#but Tophs blind jokes where the reason for my

[you-have-been-frizzled]

who else watches ship compilations for shows they never have watched and will never watch on youtube, and then sometimes end up watching so many clips of the show that they could understand the plot and have a list of favorites

[oneatlatime]

The Desert

Alternate title: Gimme Appa back.

"But I believe, Aang can save the world." no pressure kid.

I had completely forgotten about these two chuckleheads. For once the 'Previously On' segment is useful rather than spoilery.

Ok Aang is going to get the world's biggest pass this episode, because he's in the suckiest of all situations. But even so, how exactly was Toph supposed to come and get them, when she was both actually blind for once and the only reason the library hadn't drowned them yet?

Aang has something of a history of running away. Does going after Appa count as running away from his friends?

Zuko's theatre kid tendencies are genetic.

The way Iroh said "What Now?" you know he was actually saying "fuck's sake."

Zuko's hair seems to grow very quickly. I thought that I could use his hair growth to measure time passing but this is not tracking. He barely had a buzz cut in The Chase and now he's fluffy.

Two things: a) this guy has eyes greyer than Aang this episode. b) He's cocking his hands like that ridiculous Henry Cavill scene from Mission Impossible where he cocks his biceps.

This guy's spear has piercings. And is coming out of a Dragon's mouth.

I don't know that I'd call these guys legendary. They're zero for two against an Avatar in Drag and two starving refugees with three functioning arms.

Doesn't Katara ever change out her water? Or even use it up and have to refill it?

I said it last episode, and I'll say it again: why did five people, a lemur, and a ten tonne sky bison travel into a desert famous for its desertiness with only a single water pouch between them? Admittedly, if they'd brought extra water and left it on Appa, they'd be having the same problem, but still...

Is a kids' show actually going to go there?

They actually went there!

Honestly if you're dying of dehydration in the desert, eating strange plants is absolutely the way to go. I'd rather trip my way into the afterlife than just shrivel up and die.

I love the way Aang's glider shadow moves over the dunes. Another one of those tiny details that the animators could have left out, but they didn't!

Sand benders must get crazy high speeds if Aang can't spot even a trace of Appa from up high. He wasn't Appa-napped very long ago.

Everyone go watch the scene where Aang blows up the mushroom cloud. Go right now I'll wait. And pay attention to Sokka's mouth. It does the wave.

His mouth does the wave and his arms do the worm. Someone really had fun this episode.

Zuko breaking the world record for highest number of Fire Nation wanted posters. Despite being the only person on that board who's unquestionably loyal to the Fire Nation. What a nice reward he got for his loyalty.

How is that one wrestler dude's hair so shiny?

Why, other than plot convenience, would Zuko and Iroh be at the Ice Spring?

I see now that the left hand shadow is Sokka with a Momo on his head. But for just a second I thought it was Ramona from Scott Pilgrim.

There are some really beautiful colour gradients in this desert.

"We won't survive without Appa." Well yes, but you have to try.

If this is a normal desert they're going to freeze their butts off overnight.

No comment. Just vibes.

Hey this is a Katara episode! Toph is blind, Sokka's zoinked, Aang's given up, so it's Katara time baby!

This episode has no business being this pretty.

"Sokka. I was there." I'd be very surprised if Katara's voice actress doesn't have an idiot older brother. That line was delivered a little too perfectly.

I'm not going to comment on every Sokka is high joke, but rest assured I'm finding them all hilarious.

Those drinks cost a gold piece each. Where did they get five gold pieces from?

Colour me shocked. The chuckleheads actually had a good idea for once.

Colour me shocked again! I vaguely predicted this!

Zuko. Honey. How are you this dim? He's so very good at missing exactly what's in front of him.

"Gold?"

Big muscles. No brains.

Very pretty. The sand texture is good too.

Well that was mean.

Passive aggressive glider deployment. Also how low is that cloud if Aang can reach it to bend it?

Aang is not shining this episode (understandably) but Katara is going from strength to strength. I NEVER would have thought that she was someone who could keep her cool under pressure like this. Happy to be wrong!

I have no idea if Sokka is going to remember or be aware of this epic trip he's on, but this is probably the best time he's had in months. Certainly since Yue died. He deserves this. Bad timing, but he needed a break.

"You must forgive my nephew. He is not an initiate, and is dumb as shit and incapable of reading the room."

Why is there a flower shop in the middle of the desert? What clients do they have? Obviously it's a front for this pai sho secret society thing, but why did they pick such a nonsensical front?

Toph has so much personality that it's easy to forget how tiny she is. Like a little gargoyle.

Sokka talking like a Greaser was the thing I didn't know I needed.

Poor Katara. Now you know how your brother feels every time he has to save your bacon from your weekly prison break.

I am losing my mind over these colours. Especially after The Library.

"I have a natural curiosity." I'm going to start using that.

Oops they found the circle bird nest.

Hey showrunners, you're going to take Momo from me too? You sure you want to do that? After last episode? Don't give me a pretty sunset with a latte swirl. Give me back Appa, put down Momo, or I'll sic Toph on you.

I do like Toph as a piece of artillery.

Turns out a combined Appa and Momo -napping is what it takes to get Aang to break his no killing rule. I now know how to defeat the Fire Lord.

The Audacity. Going to Ba-Sing- however the hell that's spelled. The sheer audacity. But then what? What's the plan after they get there? Just live the rest of their lives?

Rejected Mortal Combat guy.

You ever have one of those days where you do only your top lip?

Whoever made that door, and that lock - good job!

Nothing to see here, just making a delivery of two giant planters in the middle of the desert. The Owl decided to spruce up his entryway.

Y'all are fucked. Y'all deserve it. Aang has completely lost control. He's spent the whole episode losing it more and more and now he's gone completely off the rails. Has he ever zipped into the Avatar state that fast before?

Never underestimate the power of a woman who's fed up with everyone's nonsense. Just so fed up.

Well that was sad.

Badass name of the day: Malachi Throne, voice of a character whose name I don't recognise.

Final Thoughts

This was Katara's episode. I'm not going to forgive not getting Appa back, but Katara actually keeping a level head for once was an unexpected delight.

This episode was pretty unrelentingly heavy in the A-plot, which is why I don't understand why Sokka and Momo tripping worked so well. It did work, and I very much enjoyed it, but it should have stuck out like a sore thumb and it didn't. The beat up Sokka quota fulfillled from within by chemicals was a nice creative touch.

I am very happy to see Iroh take the wheel, although I'm not convinced there's a long term plan here beyond get food and shelter. Which, fair enough, goals tend to be short term and immediate when you're in dire straits.

This episode really stomped all over Aang. And then stomped some more. I was surprised how negative and shouty he was at the beginning, but by the end I was surprised how long it took him to lose it. Apart from his staff and his clothes, Appa really is all he has left from before he got frozen. That sandbender punk was rotten to the core.

So I guess we're going to the earth kingdom capital regardless of the eclipse information. Is the rest of the season going to be getting there? I also can't help but notice that it's where Iroh and Zuko are headed as well. Zuko could actively run in the direction opposite to the Avatar and he'd still end up tripping over him. The earth Kingdom is ginormous. And yet, like every two episodes Zuko runs into the Avatar. Is it fate? Is it plot convenience?

I should dislike this episode. It's 24 minutes of our faves getting beat down and not finding Appa, with a b-plot of Zuko being more oblivious than usual. I should dislike it, but I don't. This is definitely going on the rewatch list. It was a very pretty episode, which helped. Beyond that I can't put into words why I liked it, but I did!

[raewritez]

Still

based on this request: I’m thirsty for a love triangle. Maybe Sokka and Zuko fighting for the reader’s affection. And she chooses ____!

warnings: one swear word right there ⬇️, aangst, simping

It fucking hurt.

Sure, Sokka knew Zuko was good now, and he knew that the two of you had history. But he couldn't have prepared himself for the ache that took place in his chest whenever you would choose to sit by Zuko around the campfire, when you would tease him in that playful tone of yours, when you would smile at him and it seemed like the sun beamed a bit brighter. It hurt because Sokka didn't get that anymore. Or maybe he did, but he was too blinded by jealousy to process the fact that you cared about both of them. In Sokka's mind, your gaze was always on Zuko, on his stupid fluffy hair and his oh-so-perfect stupid face. Your hand was always somewhere on him; on his arm, around his shoulder, on his face when you healed the cuts that resulted from your latest skirmish. He could only clench his jaw, standing and storming off to where he could be alone with his misery. He'd feel your eyes on him as he walked away, probably widened in confusion and your head probably tilted in that stupid, adorable way that made Sokka's heart melt every time. But he'd continue, not sparing you a glance. It's not like you cared, anyway.

You did care.

What was his problem? Things hadn't been this tense between you and Sokka since you first met, since he labeled you as the enemy and scoured you with his glares. But that was months ago. You weren't used to this standoffishness, not used to the way he'd turn on you and leave you in the dust. No, you were used to Sokka, your Sokka. The one that held you when you cried when the Earth Kingdom fell and Zuko sided with his sister, the one that teased you mercilessly with that lopsided grin of his, the one that raced you to the top of mulberry trees to see who could get the best fruit. The one that came to you when his mind was racing, face nuzzled into your neck as your fingers pulled his hair loose from his wolf-tail. That was your Sokka, not the stranger that walked away from you now.

Your concerned gaze was broken by a soft tap on your shoulder.

"Hey, you ok?"

You forced a smile, turning to Zuko. "I'm fine. Just tired. Your story put me to sleep."

He scoffed, bumping you and turning away to hide his grin. "Well, it's actually my Uncle's story. You can blame him."

"I'm sure I'd be more interested if Iroh was telling it," you grinned. "Maybe you're just a bad storyteller."

"I'm a great storyteller. You're just a bad listener."

"Mhm. Sure."

He let out a breathy chuckle, eyes darting to your face. Spirits, he'd missed you. This is what he'd longed for those three years; this closeness. Memories of his childhood ran through his mind - memories of playtime and friendship, of two best friends who had nothing to fear but curfews and monsters under the bed. Zuko had fought and struggled, had chosen right and chosen wrong, but all those choices had led him here. Back to you. And now, his body lit aflame by your touch and his heart skipping by the song of your laughter, he'd never been more certain of anything in his life.

He was thrilled to have you back, but it was different. Before, in the painted halls of the Firenation palace and under the maroon quilts of his mother's bed, he'd had you all to himself. Now, he had to share. It was strange, seeing you laugh so boisterously with Toph or hug Aang so closely, seeing you walk arm in arm with Katara as you went into town for groceries. He was in much better standing with the group now - he knew he was forgiven for his mistakes and was welcome to share in the friendship they so generously provided. He was overwhelmingly grateful, but he cherished the moments he spent with you. And they'd have been better, if not for the other boy in the group.

Zuko had no problem with Sokka. Quite the contrary, he admired him for his leadership and laughed at his jokes, and the time he spent with him was something he enjoyed. But he envied him. Zuko saw the way the Water Tribe boy looked at you; like you were the sun itself and had put all the stars in the sky just for him. He saw the fondness in the other boy's eyes when you spoke, saw the comfortability in his movements as he wrapped an arm around your shoulder. He had to remind himself that the two of you were close - that you'd spent months traveling together while he chased you all over the world. He'd guessed you would be close, but it seemed he'd underestimated the power of your love for your friends and this boy. Because you were brighter when he was around, eyes flickering to him as if on instinct whenever he arrived at the campsite. Your eyes grew tender and your voice soft, and Sokka's affection mirrored your own.

Your eyes locked on his, and he felt like he could drown in them forever. Your lips curved into a grin, and his worries and insecurities were washed away as quickly as they came. You stood up, offering him your hand. "Come on, let's get ready for bed."

He took it eagerly, smiling up at you in a way that made your heart warm. You reached up to ruffle his hair, skipping away and laughing at his indignant "Hey!" before he caught up to you and flicked your forehead. You swatted his hand away, glaring up at him. He only smirked before walking ahead of you.

You grabbed your bedroll, laying it out on the dusty ground. Zuko laid his close by. After putting out the fire and bidding goodnight to your friends, casting a sad look to Sokka's figure which sat idly upon the cliffside, you made your way inside and shut your eyes, Zuko not far behind.

///

Yep. Sokka was annoyed. He thought going for a walk would clear his mind, maybe preoccupy his thoughts with something other than you, but he guesses he was wrong. It was impossible when he could hear your laughter all the way from camp, no doubt directed towards the Firebender. He swallowed roughly, picking up his pace. He couldn't stand it; you and him. Sokka had no problem with Zuko. They were friends! Well, pretty much. Zuko had proved himself to be loyal, and there was no reason for him not to be trusted. He was cool - a little awkward albeit, but hey, Sokka can understand where that would come from after spending three years as an isolated, ponytail-wearing, Avatar-obsessed banished prince. He had no problem with Zuko, really. He guessed that he just...missed you.

Katara said he was jealous, something he promptly waved away, dismissing her with a wave. She'd rolled her eyes and called after him, "You can't ignore it forever, Sokka!" Ok, whatever Katara.

He was not jealous. He didn't care about the time you spent with the fire bender, or the way you seemed happier now that he was around. He didn't care that he hadn't talked to you in two days, and he definitely didn't care that your sleeping bag was sidled up cozily next to Zuko's.

"I'm so stupid," he muttered, lowering himself to the ground. He swung his legs over the cliff, feet dangling in the air. He turned his head, catching glimpse of the dying embers in the campfire, Toph's rock tent and Katara and Aang's sleeping figures, and you, asleep with your arms stretched in Zuko's direction. He held his head in his hands, sighing frustratedly. Yeah, maybe he was a little jealous. But really, why wouldn't he be? He used to sleep next to you, he was the one who made you laugh and woke you up in the middle of the night to sneak a ride on Appa. Now what? It'd been days since the two of you had a real conversation, so different from the constant chattering and jokes that had made his time saving the world so much more bearable. He missed you. So, so much. Spirits, what he would give for a day with you, the ones like you used to have. Where you would do whatever you wanted and usually end up scolded by Katara, but those were the days that made him forget the war and the reality of his unfortunate circumstances, when his heart was light and his worries quenched.

Those days meant everything to him, but he was afraid they were expendable. Because now you spent them with Zuko without so much as a glance his way. Sure, it wasn't like he was making much an effort, but still. You'd told him about Zuko; about the friend you'd lost to banishment who'd come out like his father. He'd thought you were crazy when you said with such conviction that he still had some good in him, but had comforted you nonetheless. He sat with you in his arms and told you the story of the time he got beat up by a penguin back home. He felt proud when he made you laugh.

You meant everything to him, but maybe it was different for you. He knew you loved him, although maybe not in the way he was beginning to question his own love as being, but he knew you loved him. You made sure he knew; in your smiles, in your words, in your touch. But he also knew you loved everyone else - the way you talked with his sister and softened her edges, allowing her to rest from the motherly role she put herself in and taking her under your arm instead. The way Toph latched onto you, teasing you with utter fondness and accepting your help without resistance. The absolute adoration that Aang held for you - resting his head on your shoulder and coming to you with his troubles, always searching for your guidance in his trials and relying on your strength and unwavering faith in him.

But it seemed different with Zuko. With him you were unbearably gentle, reassuring him of his value and rekindling the lost friendship of children ripped apart. It was obvious to everyone; the pure affection you held for this boy. It was obvious to Sokka, and, spirits, it stung. Because had you ever looked at him like that? Had he ever made you laugh as loudly as you did for Zuko, who was seemingly not even trying? He didn't know and it ate away at him, clawing at his chest and leaving it burning. Maybe he was in too deep now, too lost in love and bitterness to see the olive branches you offered him and the way your eyes darkened when he turned them away. It was fine. He was perfectly fine and would continue to be fine, even as Zuko's hand reached out for yours. Even as he felt you slipping away, even as he was alone. So terribly, painfully alone.

———-

part two?👀

[blackkatmagic]

me, seeing you reblog things involving Hakoda and his kids:

:)

“I can't be believe you took the credits, Sokka, this is supposed to be a learning experience—”

“It is not, this is a teaching experience and we are the teachers, Katara! And if I have to spend months teaching a bunch of weird off-worlders—”

“—they're people just like us—”

“—then I want compensation, because I'm not a monk—”

Hakoda sighs and pulls his bag down from one of the overhead lockers. He could try to stop the argument, but at this point he knows better. It’s better to wait until Katara drenches her brother, or Sokka puts his sister in a headlock, and then step in. Sokka and Katara might be teenagers, closing in on adults, but some things very definitely never change.

Bato tosses him the bag with his armor, grinning. “Good luck,” he says, and Hakoda gives him a rueful smile.

“You could have taken this job, too,” he points out, but at precisely that moment Sokka squawks loudly, Katara yelps, and there's a loud thud.

“I think,” Bato says without an ounce of sympathy, “that I'm fine just playing pilot this time.”

Hakoda is the chieftain of the Southern Water Tribe; it’s beneath his dignity for him to beg Bato to smuggle him back to the Four Nations, no matter how long they’ve been friends. Still, he winces as he sheathes his whale’s tooth scimitar across his back, then takes the club Bato hands him. “And miss the family vacation?” he jokes, then reaches out. Bato snorts, but reaches back, hauling him into a bruising-tight hug for a long moment.

“I carry my family with me wherever I go,” Bato says in his ear. “Even when I don’t have to listen to Sokka and Katara shrieking at each other.”

Hakoda thumps him lightly in the ribs, though he’s laughing when he pulls away. “Keep an eye out for the rest,” he says, a little rueful, because Sokka and Katara leaving without telling Toph, Zuko, and Aang where they were going probably means Hakoda is going to have at least two of them crashing in very soon, trailing trouble. Zuko might manage to hold out longer, if only because of the amount of responsibility he has, but—Hakoda’s seen the way he looks at Katara, and he’s not holding out much hope for restraint where teenage feelings are concerned.

“I’ll send them your way,” Bato promises without mercy, and steps back, letting Hakoda go. Resigned to it, Hakoda waves briefly as he starts down the ramp, and because Bato knows him far too well, he calls, “Keep an eye on all of those Mandalorians, Hakoda!”

Hakoda is a grown man with two nearly-grown children; he doesn’t flush, even though he knows exactly what Bato is implying. “Keep an eye on all of those otter penguins, Bato,” he retorts, and turns—

Practically runs into two confused stares, because his children always choose the very worst time to remember they have ears.

“Is there something wrong with the otter penguins, Dad?” Katara asks, brow furrowing.

“Of course not,” Hakoda says blithely. “Bato just likes them, and I want him to be happy while we’re gone. I figure watching the otter penguins will keep him occupied.” He resettles his club, loops an arm around each of his children, and steers them out into the lashing rain. There aren’t any Kaminoans out to meet them, though given who hired them Hakoda supposes that’s reasonable. Instead, a bulky figure in armor is waiting just inside the doors, a shadow against the blinding white of the halls.

“No arguing in front of the Mandalorians, please,” he jokes, and Katara and Sokka both give identical offended huffs in unison, then stop short, looking accusingly at each other. Hakoda sighs to cover his amusement, stepping past both of them as the door of the facility slides open, and he steps in just as the waiting figure straightens.

“Jango Fett,” Hakoda says, and holds out a hand. “I apologize for the delay. Messages take a long time to reach the Four Nations.”

Jango isn't wearing his helmet, and Hakoda can see the flicker across his features, the relief that’s hidden in an instant. “Chief Hakoda, right?” he says gruffly. “Didn’t expect you to come personally.”

“You asked for our strategists and best warriors,” Hakoda says, with no little pride, and puts his hands on his children’s shoulders. “This is my son, Sokka, our tribe’s tactician, and one of our bravest. And this is my daughter, Master Katara.”

Jango tenses, and ever so faintly Hakoda sees his hand twitch towards one of the blasters strapped to his thigh. “Your daughter’s a Jedi?” he demands.

Hakoda blinks, caught off guard, but before he has to come up with an answer, Katara snorts. She folds her arms across her chest, giving Jango a look that dares him to make another comment, and says, “Waterbending master. There are no Jedi from the Four Nations. Our Force traditions are different.”

“That’s the only reason you're here,” Jango says coolly. “My mother used to tell me stories about her family back in the Nations, and I figured you could be useful.”

Katara's eyes flash, her mouth going tight, but she just draws herself up to her full height. Doesn’t otherwise move, doesn’t so much as make a threatening gesture, but Hakoda is suddenly, acutely aware that every last inch of this planet is nothing but ocean, and there are three moons in the sky above them, all nearly full.

Jango's eyes flicker to him, then back to Katara, and he stops. Takes a breath, and says more carefully, “My son. He’s been…showing symptoms. Of bending.”

[todourouki]

A Class 1A x reader where she is a new student and she is like toph from atla. Like she is blind, has a quirk that allows her to control the earth, never backs down from a fight, independent and she's brutally honest. Love your Writing🥰

AHHHH good choice anon! I fucking love toph and her bad bitch energy is >>> I’ll try my hardest with this, and I think I’ll make it a hc bc it’s the best option LOL | also thank you so fucking MUCHHH ily and I hope this is good enough for you! xx 🤎

TITLE: Reader w. A Quirk Like Toph (ATLA)

PAIRING: Class 1-A & Reader

WARNINGS: Explicit Language

when you first stepped into class 1-a, you were kinda scared

besides the fact that you couldn’t see anyone

you didn’t know what to expect from the people around you

would they be nice? Would they taunt you for your impairment like others have?

if they did you’d fuck them up—

the minute you walked into the class, everyone’s eyes widened at the sight of you

your pupils were an extremely blueish white hue, almost appearing as if they were glowing

aizawa told you he already alerted the class of your ““condition”” so there was nothing to worry about

the first person to talk to you was Mina

even though most of the reason was that you were seated behind her, she was happy there was finally another girl in the class

she introduced you to a girl name hagakure who you learned was invisible

immediately they started describing everyone in class to you

“uraraka is like... the sweetest girl ever”

“yea and asui and jirou are so cool”

“also, todoroki is like.... the prettiest boy in this school”

“not like i’d be able to tell”

“....”

“you can laugh...”

your sense of humor really threw everyone off cause it’s like..

damn can i laugh or is that disrespectful??

the only person to not give a fuck and would laugh out loud was someone you learned to be bakugou

a lot of conversations btwn you and some classmates would be a bit... humorous once they realized you joked around about being blind

“are you deaf? we’re taking—”

“no, i’m blind.”

“.......(sigh)”

when everyone first saw your quirk though, they were amazed

even bakugou thought it was pretty convenient he’d never admit it out loud though

what really impressed them though

was when school’s asshole monoma found out there was a blind new girl in 1-a

he thought it would be a good idea to sneak up on her & give her the run around

it was not a good idea

the vibrations of his feet were ones you could tell were trying to be undetected and you thought this was someone trying to attack you

you heard about the damn mess UA has with villains so you were always on guard

without a blink of a blind eye, your feet stomped across the ground and sent a ripple of dirt collapsing in his direction

monoma was now stuck into the ground with dirt around his entire lower body and had the inability to move

kirishima said that ever since then, you are now the manliest person he knows

bakugou didn’t like that

You never asked any of your classmates for help no matter how much they tried to assist you

Momo was always telling you she could create this one thing that writes down what it hears for you

“That’s really sweet yaoyorozu but seriously I’m okay”

“No Y/N you don’t understand, you don’t have to struggle to see anymore because this can help—”

“I’ll still be blind—”

The one who never really laughed 100% at your jokes though would be midoriya and iida

Midoriya being that he always got so flustered and felt bad for even raising his lips at the thought of one of your jokes

and iida because he thought laughing at someone’s disability was “beyond unheroic and uncalled for”

you couldn’t see them but you knew they were just that guy in class

“The desk is a place to do your work, not sit”

you soon learned that midoriya didn’t care about his life at all though, which shocked you bc he seemed so well mannered and careful

one time mineta tried to look up your skirt and ojiro smacked him with his tail and that’s how you became close friends with “the guy that’s not half monkey but he’s pretty much half monkey”

all in all, everyone in class 1-A adores you, even those who act like they don’t *cough ykw*

you all defend each other, and manage to work really well with one another during quirk battle practices

they’ll defend you to the death bc of you being blind even though you constantly tell them you can handle them

“you can’t see so let me electrify them for making that joke about your blindness”

“please y/n, let me ice their bodies so they are unable to attack you. i refuse to let a comrade of mine go injured if i can protect them”

“guys i can handle it”

“yeah but you can’t see so how are you supposed to attack them if you don’t know where they are???”

“......”

“can you please get this dirt coffin thing off me”

“i just wanted to freeze the bad guy—”

we stan class 1-A and earth bender!reader & that’s just that on that!

[stitch1830]

@gemgirl28 You begged me to write it, and I have a hard time saying no, so here's some word vomit about this headcanon LOL. Hope this is kind of what you were hoping/looking for... Thanks for letting me take a whack at it :)

......

Aang took a deep breath, knelt down, and cradled Appa’s face with his hands. “Alright, buddy. It’s time to meet her. Now, I know this isn’t what either of us wanted, but this is the way it’s gotta be. We still have some time together because we gotta make sure you two are compatible, but I want you to know that no matter what happens, I love you and you are the greatest friend any man can have.”

Appa just licked his snout and panted in excitement like always. Aang smiled at his training companion and stood up.

“What do you say to a little jog to the front, huh, buddy?”

His furry friend barked in agreement and Aang tightened his grip on Appa’s leash. “Alright buddy, let’s go!” Aang began to run and eventually skipped alongside Appa. With each skipped step, Aang yelled out “Yip! Yip!” Which only enticed the Labrador Retriever to run faster down the hall than he was probably allowed to.

Luckily, Aang was right there, and not many of his coworkers had the heart to ever really say no to the man.

When they reached the entrance of the training center, Aang halted abruptly, causing Appa to slide to a halt as well. Sitting by the glass doors was a young woman, a pretty woman. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was slumped in her seat, as if she’d rather be anywhere else than where she currently was. And yet, Aang couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Maybe it was the way her jet black hair shined from the glass door’s reflection. Or the way her lips pursed in annoyance. Or the way her eyebrows would raise at random times as if she was thinking about something that made her skeptical. Or maybe it was simply because she looked like she had so much to share with the world, but refused to entertain them.

Whatever it was, Aang wanted to speak with her for as long as possible.

One tiny problem, though. He just needed to confirm a day and time for their training sessions with Appa and that was it.

But, Aang was quick on his feet. He could muster up a few quick conversations with—Aang glanced down at his form—Toph. He could chat with Toph for a while. How hard could it be?

The young man and his furry companion approached the young woman sitting down by the receptionist desk. Before Aang could say anything, though, the woman—Toph—spoke first.

“Did you just skip over here? Please tell me your name is Twinkletoes or something, because that’s the only reason I’d allow for you to be fucking skipping around like a first grader.”

“Uh, no… My name’s Aang, though, and you must be Toph!”

Toph let out a small huff. “Twinkletoes suits you better.”

“Okay... I’ll keep that in mind,” he stuttered, hoping to keep the conversation lively and somewhat engaging. “Well anyways, this is Appa, and here at the center we paired you up with him. We just want to, um, make sure that you two will be compatible.”

Toph waved a hand at Aang. “Yeah, yeah, Twinkletoes. Just tell me when you need me here every week.”

“Well, actually, I do have a few questions to ask you right now. Appa is a very special dog to me, and I, um. I just want to make sure you guys are good together!”

“Didn’t you just say that was what the weekly sessions are for?” She pointed an accusatory finger at him with deadly precision.

“Um, yeah…” he began, rubbing the back of his neck to calm his nerves. “But I need to do my own assessment!”

“Your own assessment?”

“Yes! You see—“

“—Can’t do that, Twinkletoes.” Toph waved her hand across her eyes, and Aang internally groaned at his density.

“I—uh—oh. Sorry. Poor choice of words,” he replied sheepishly.

She laughed, and it made Aang’s heart flutter. He needed to hear that laugh again. “Relax, Twinkles. I was making a joke. Blind people can do that too, you know.”

“Right… I guess you can say it fell on… deaf ears?” He nearly slapped his face then and there. Deaf ears???

But much to his relief, she let out another giggle. “Dear God, Aang. You have such bad jokes. Let’s go back to you explaining your interrogation before the interrogation/training session.”

Aang gave a weak chuckle in reply, then said, “It’s just that, with every guide dog that I train, I like to make sure that prior to our training sessions that you two will mesh well!”

It was bullshit, but he liked talking with her.

Toph seemed to see (figuratively) through the bullshit. She raised a skeptical eyebrow at Aang, then asked, “Are you fucking with me? Because it sure as hell sounds like you are.”

“No! Never, Toph. I really do want to get to know you a little bit beforehand.”

She let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine! What do you want to know?”

“Well, where are you from!”

“Here in the city.”

“Right… Uh, same, in case you were wondering.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Okay… well, what do you like to do for fun?”

“What does this have to do with me getting a guide dog?” she demanded

“Um… I’m just wondering if you two have any shared interests!”

Toph groaned and rubbed her hand over her face. “Listen, Twinkles. I like most things you can do outdoors. I’m sure Fluffy and I will get along swimmingly.”

“Well, that’s great! Anything in particular you like to do?”

“There’s a martial arts class in the park, and if I have a friend to guide me, I’ll jog. Are we done here?”

“Just one more—”

“—For crying out loud, Twinkletoes!” she whined. Toph stood up and approached Aang, giving his shoulder a firm poke after she grabbed it for reference. “I’ve got shit to do today. Now can we please just set up this time so that I can go on with my day?”

Aang couldn’t help but smile at Toph, even if it went unnoticed by her. “Absolutely, but I have one more question. Why do you want Appa to guide you?”

The question made Toph hesitate for a moment, and her tough exterior fell ever so slightly. The tension in her shoulder relaxed when she answered sincerely, “I’m a very independent woman. My cane has done well for me so far, but I just thought that maybe having a companion would help me gain more independence. Like going for a run without asking if a friend is available. Stairs have been an issue in the past too, could use some help knowing where those are... Stuff like that.

“Think Fluffy can help me with that?”

Again, Aang grinned from ear to ear. In his totally unbiased, objective opinion, Appa was the perfect companion for Toph. “Absolutely! We can start training tomorrow at 8AM if that’s okay. I’m happy to do daily sessions instead of weekly if you want to!”

“Easy there, Twinkles. Let’s just take it one session at a time.”

“That works, too! See you tomorrow, Toph!”

Toph waved a hand at him as she turned on her heel and made her way to the door. “See you never, Twinkletoes. You better not be skipping at fucking 8 in the morning…”

Aang let out a loving sigh as he watched Toph leave and round the corner out of his sight. He stood there for a moment, completely lost in his thoughts, when Appa nudged his leg. Aang looked down at Appa and smiled at him. “What do you think, buddy? She’s something isn’t she?”

“Who’s something?”

Aang turned to look at his coworker Sokka, who was cradling a puppy and smelled suspiciously like urine. “Oh, this woman named Toph. She’s Appa’s potential owner!”

“Oh yeah?” Sokka asked. He scanned his friend up and down to assess his current mood and put two and two together... “You like her, don’t you?”

“I think I’m in love with her.”

Sokka sighed. “Of course you are.”

[scarilydark]

ATLA Modern Au HCs

Aang

appa in this world is a giant shaggy dog, probably a mastiff

aang seems like the type to ride a skateboard, and also wear beanies, that type, he likes taking appa on walks (or well, runs) while riding, and still somehow never manages to fall

Aang is also the type to play a bunch of sports, not exactly competitive, but he just loves having fun, absolutely seems like the type to just be chilling one moment, and then get the ZoomiesTM the next, you know?

Katara

surfer chick, and very good (and competitive)

she seems like the type to be really interested in zodiac signs, you know? like i have absolutely no idea what any of it means, but i feel like she'd definetly know all her friends signs and whatever,

she's interested in nursing, but also takes karate lessons, and not just any regular defense classes, like, the brutal shit.

sokka

was absolutely a fuckboy, then suki broke his jaw, and it was basically night and day (basically just like the show)

it is absolutely not safe to roast him or his friends, he will fucking destroy you, and like, in seconds too (thank god he has strong friends, his tongue has written him some goddamn checks let me tell you)

he is way smarter than he appears, like, you'd be talking to him in lunch, or see him around, and have those expectations of what he's like in class, but no, he's much smarter than he let's on, and usually does really good in class (do NOT ask him to tutor you, though, he seems like he'd be bad at that, Katara is the safer bet)

toph

still blind, still like, a teenager, still an actual professional wrestler. like, seriously, i'm not joking here, she does moonsaults and german suplexs 30 year old men who weight 200 pounds, and you can't stop her.

goes to a public school even though like, her family has a wikipedia page dedicated to them, like she's Rich rich. but low-key about it cause she doesn't give a damn about any of that type of money, she had her documents forged in advanced so the staff and students didn't know who she was (she refuses to wear shoes, the school tried to make her, she wrote them a 500k check and told them to fuck off, the obliged)

for a blind girl, she likes really, really loud music, head thumping heavy metal music, she still somehow hears people when they call for her while she has her earbuds in, nobody knows how, she's like, a goddamn cryptid.

zuko

another Rich rich kid, also pretty chill about it, he also goes to a public school, not out of him rebelling, though, but cause his dad didn't bother to sign him up into any private school, it was azula who rebelled against daddy dearest and went to school with him (i like the idea of zuko and azula actually being like, close, ok?)

fiercely protective of his friends and sister, he has gotten into the Most fights in the school (and several known creeps, along with the weird science teacher, got attacked by a person in a blue demon mask, all ending up in the hospital, said teacher got fired for being...too close with some female students)

he's also skilled in like, tons of shit, he's taken kickboxing, played soccer, knows how to play a guitar, and still for some reasons tells everyone he meets that azula is the smart one.

Azula

she is, EVERYWHERE, smartest girl in the school, the best grades, in basically any and every club, head cheerleader, all of it.

to be clear, in this Au, azula isn't like, That different, she's still snarky, has a silver tongue that cuts like a knife if she wants, can probably kill you (and would) in most ways, and the smartest person in basically any given room, but she's also like, human, and something was different enough in their childhood which made azula realize that "maybe dad is wrong, and i should stick by zuko" and it's done wonders for her, despite their fathers displeasure (she is planning on killing him once she's 16 though, like, honest to god, has a google doc for it and everything, so i mean, the more things change)

she secretly is obsessed with pokemon, the only other person who knows is zuko.

every single one of them is Bi, or at least, very Very comfortable with their sexuality. like, sokka and azula seem very much like the types to lounge about, and cuddle with literally anyone. they also basically flirt with anyone, sokka and zuko have kissed several times, and like, they aren't romantically interested in each-other, it's very much "this is my husband sokka, this is his husband zuko" type situation. aang is the type of person who was like out of the closet at birth like, he never even considered liking boys and girls at the same time wasn't an option. azula and katara also founded their schools LGBTQ+ club, and anyone who tried to stop it's formation, or get it banned, got lit on fire.

there's other characters i wanna do, but can't think of anything for them yet,

ship wise, i'm feeling pretty feral, sokka is probably gonna be with suki (and get pegged) i'm feeling like katara would get a girlfriend in this particular au, who she'd be with idk yet. i'd also pair up toph and aang, but, zuko and azula, is what's troubling me, cause, i could pair azula with katara, i do like that ship, and i could do something interesting, like maybe pair zuko with someone strange like jet, or ty lee, since mai honestly kinda bores me, but i'm feeling...kinda zucest, here? like, i know, I Know. but, azula is the type who doesn't exactly understand right or wrong, and doesn't really get what society may feel as taboo, that's why her sexuality is so clear to her, and she's not afraid to be open about it, so like, she loves her brother, you know? this does not seem like something that'd be unusual for the character. my problem here is, what does this mean for zuko, especially when he learns of these feelings? well, from a very early age, they've relied on each other, dad basically disowned zuko, and mom was convinced azula was the devil, so when they needed comfort, they went to each other, once they realized they're being played against each other, and that's been the story since basically childhood onto high school, she's the one who tutors him if he falls behind on any subject, he's the one who helps her make more friends, even if he himself can be anti-social, they're both equally protective, if i was gonna go the Safe route, i'd say he should turn her down, and they'd have a stronger relationship cause of it, But... the devil on my shoulder is telling me he wouldn't be as against it as he should be, that it's more in character than i'd like to admit. and, while, obviously, the elephant in the room is still prevalent, i can't just, ignore what seems like the natural progression of these two characters given the situation i've put them in,

(please god don't kill me for this, i don't normally ship taboo ships like this, i literally just can't think of a way where i can pair them with anyone in this particular Au)

[kanerallels]

Donicus Crossover ATLA (PLEASE ADD TOPH PLZ PLZ PLZ) Thank you!!!

It would be my honor-- here goes nothing lol!!!

Pairing: Marcus Lanum/Idony St. Claire

Word count: ??? I'm on mobile rn, I'll update this later. Somewhere in the 1000s

Tags/Warning: G rating (for glaring, at Marcus, from Noah). One minor injury and a little blood

Getting lost in Republic City was no joke. The place was absolutely huge, with a lot of streets and different buildings. It was also decidedly unhelpful when some people in your group (Berlyne, Apen and Noah) wanted to go watch pro-bending, while others (Marcus, Enel and Idony) wanted to find the library. (Chara and Joe were undecided.)

“I could have sworn we should have turned left back there,” Marcus muttered, studying the map he was holding. The whole group had paused on a street corner, and he and Apen were studying the map, trying to figure out where they were. Berlyne and Noah were nearby, mostly making unhelpful comments as Enel and Chara ignored the whole proceedings while excitedly pointing out parts of the city to each other.

As for Idony, she had her arm tucked around Marcus’s, her head tilted up towards the sunlight as she listened to the city. Marcus paused a moment to look away from the map at her, seeing the way the sun glinted off her golden curls and a soft smile turned up the corners of her mouth.

Then he saw Noah shoot him a glare, and hastily redirected his attention to the map, just as Apen shook his head. “No, we were supposed to go straight-- if that’s even where we are. I think we’re on this street.” He jabbed a finger at a different spot on the map.

“Impossible,” Marcus protested. “We passed the candy store on Main Street-- that was where we got off track in the first place because Enel was trying to drag us in there.”

“Yeah, and we went east instead of north.”

“No, we--”

Berlyne let out an exasperated sigh. “You guys have been arguing about this for the past ten minutes. Why don’t we just ask for directions again?”

“We don’t need them!” Marcus said, lifting the map. “I can figure out where we’re going. Now, where did we turn past the police station again?”

“I’m with Berlyne,” Irony said to Marcus’s dismay. “We should just ask how to get there. Enel!”

The copper-haired boy turned from the fire hydrant he and Chara were admiring. “Yeah?”

“Would you and Chara find someone who can give us directions, please?”

“On it!” Enel promptly darted out into the street with Chara on his heels. He’d barely made it two steps when Marcus heard someone shout, “STOP!!”

Chara froze, and Enel, who did not stop, slammed straight into the source, a tan-skinned young man around Marcus’s age. He had a ponytail, although his hair was shaved at the sides, and wore a blue tunic and pants and blue fingerless gloves. At his side he wore a long sword that Marcus recognized from his reading as a jian, and on his back was a strangely triangular-shaped sheath of some kind.

He squinted at Enel. “Oh. Good news, guys, he’s not actually on fire. That’s just his hair.”

“Which is exactly what we told you,” pointed out one of his other two companions. They were both girls around his own age-- one in green robes and armor, her face painted completely white, with red above the eyes and along her lips. The other girl was younger and a little shorter, clad in what looked to be a green jumpsuit of some kind, with a pale yellow overtunic. She was shoeless for some reason, and her bangs hung loose over her eyes, which-- Marcus did a double take-- were filmed over in a similar manner to Idony. Was this girl blind, too?

Shrugging, Berlyne said, “Well, it’s an understandable mistake when it comes to Enel.”

Enel shot her a wounded look as Apen blurted out, “Wait-- are you a Kyoshi warrior?” He was staring at the girl in white makeup, who looked surprised.

“I am,” she said.

“I’ve read about those,” Marcus said, his eyes widening. “Named for the mythical Avatar Kyoshi, who supposedly founded them. You’re made up entirely of women and wield weaponized fans.”

“I heard stories about you growing up,” Apen said, his eyes going glassy as he clearly slipped back to the past. “My si-- uh, people I knew hero worshipped you guys.”

“We’re honored, in that case,” the girl said with a smile. “I’m Suki. This is Sokka of the Water Tribe, and Toph Beifong.”

“Beifong? As in Lao Beifong, the business man?” Apen asked.

Folding her arms, Toph said, “No, as in Toph Beifong, greatest earthbender in the world. Get that in your head, short stuff.”

“Hey!” Apen looked offended as Toph whipped out an arm, pointing directly at Marcus.

“As for you, yes, I’m blind. Stop staring or I’ll throw you in the ocean. I have pretty great range as an earthbender, you know.”

“I wasn’t staring,” Marcus protested, and Sokka chuckled.

“First mistake-- Toph can sense when you’re lying.” Leaning over to Apen, he said, “She really is the best earthbender ever. Don’t tell her I said it, though, it would only go to her head.”

“I can hear you, bozo,” Toph said flatly.

“Oops.”

Swatting Marcus’s shoulder, Idony said, “Marcus! That’s rude! But-- you’re blind, too?”

“‘Too?’” Toph echoed.

“Oh, yeah-- Idony’s blind,” Enel said helpfully. “She’s with Marcus.” He punctuated the “with Marcus” by wiggling his eyebrows aggressively.

Choosing to ignore him, Marcus said, “I didn’t mean to be rude, I was just surprised--”

“Don’t care,” Toph said, waving a hand dismissively, and Noah snorted.

“I might actually be starting to like this earthbender. Here’s a question-- can you actually launch someone into the harbor, and do I have to choose between Enel and Marcus?”

“Noah!” Idony said, irritation flashing across her face. “You’re not launching them anywhere.”

Noah grumbled something under his breath, and Berlyne snickered.

“Better luck next time. You’ll just have to do it yourself.”

“You two are my kind of people,” Toph said with a grin. “Okay-- wanna see something cool?”

“Sure,” Berlyne said, looking intrigued.

Taking a wide, firm stance, Toph took a long deep breath. Then, lifting one of her feet up, she slammed it back down into the pavement at the same time as she jerked her hands upwards. A spire of rock shot up out of the ground at Sokka’s feet, catapulting him into the air. He let out a yelp of horror. “TOPH! NOT AGAIN!!!”

Gasps of shock flew around the ground, but Suki and Toph seemed unbothered. With another earthbending move, Toph brought another spire of rock out of the ground, catching Sokka a few feet from the ground. He let out a grunt. “Ow…”

“You’re fine,” Toph said, waving a hand dismissively. “Nothing’s even broken.”

“True. Maybe warn me next time you shoot me into the air, though?” Sokka suggested, sliding off of the rock formation and onto the ground. “And also please put our city’s streets back the way they were.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Toph grumbled, bringing the rock towers back into the ground. They disappeared seamlessly, and she shrugged. “Well, it wasn’t the Earth Rumble, but still fun.”

“Wait-- did you compete in the Earth Rumble?” Berlyne demanded, and Toph smirked.

“Please, I owned the Earth Rumble. All those pansies went crying home once I was done.”

“Technically also true,” Sokka agreed. “I was there.”

“Tell me everything,” Berlyne demanded, and Marcus released a long suffering sigh.

Looking at Suki, he said, “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to give us directions? We’re trying to get to the library.”

“Pro-bending,” Apen corrected.

Grinning, Suki said, “I’ll see what I can do.”

The three of them moved to the side as Sokka began to give a play-by-play of the Earth Rumble, with Toph occasionally re-enacting moves. Finally, they were fairly certain they had a route mapped out.

“Okay,” Marcus was saying, “so we turn right here--”

He was cut off halfway through as Toph’s latest earth bending move sent rocks flying in their direction. One cracked into Marcus’s temple, and he crashed to the ground with a yelp of pain.

He heard a shout of concern that was probably Enel’s, a snort of amusement that was definitely Noah, and then Idony called his name.

“Marcus!”

She was by his side seconds later, kneeling next to him. “Are you okay?” she asked, a gentle hand touching the side of his face.

His eyes lingering on her face, Marcus felt his heart rate pick up slightly. “I’m, uh, better now,” he managed. “Much better.”

A smile crossed Idony’s face. “You must have been hit hard to be flirting in front of my brother.” Leaning down, she planted a kiss on his forehead, and if Marcus hadn’t been seeing stars before, he was now. “That always makes it better,” she told him.

“Definitely,” Marcus agreed.

He heard a strangled noise from above them, and glanced up to see Apen pointedly looking away from him. “Uh, you okay?” he asked, a slight grin crossing his face.

“You’re way too entertained by this, aren’t you?” Marcus said with exasperation.

“Maybe a little.”

As Apen and Idony helped Marcus to his feet, Sokka came hurrying over. “Ooh, that looks like a nasty cut,” he said, and Marcus lifted a hand to his temple, feeling blood. “Tell ya what, we’ll have my sister Katara look at it. She’s an expert healer with her water bending-- DEFINITELY don’t tell her I said that.”

“Wait,” Apen said, his eyes growing even wider. “Your sister is KATARA???”

"The famous healer?" Marcus said, impressed.

Letting out a groan, Toph said, "If they start swooning over someone every five minutes, it's gonna be a long day."

"And they don't even know that Katara's boyfriend is the Avatar," Sokka observed.

"He's WHAT???" Apen gaped at them.

"Yup. Swooning," Toph said with a sigh. Shooting Marcus and Idony-- who was still standing very close to him-- a look, she added, "And that's not even the only kind of swooning around her."

Noah looked like he wanted to gag, and Marcus almost protested. But then Idony slipped her hand into his, and. Well. Toph wasn't exactly far off. And he definitely didn't mind.

[enmy-writes]

My Rock Star

Request: Anon: hii can i request a zuko x reader fic where the reader is in a famous girl group (like blackpink for example) & the whole gaang is backstage while the reader is getting ready for a performance & its just super fluffy & cute? Thanks!!

Word Count: 2,646

Fandom: ATLA (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Pairing: Zuko x Fem!Reader

Genre: All fluff. It’s some nice fluff time

Rated: 18+

Content Warnings: swearing, mentions of abuse (not detailed though), suggested themes but nothing bad

****My first request!! Sorry, anon, if I didn’t capture everything you wanted, but I hope it is! I am a sucker for music and bands, and instead of a blackpink approach, I gave the band instruments because I simp for instruments lol I might do a part 2 if this turns out well so lmk! Also, I learned how to make the “keep reading” line show up so that’s exciting yay me. Enjoy :)****

_______________________________________________________________________

It was about two hours before the show was supposed to start and Y/N was doing her normal self-routine before she had to go to her ‘Band-Team-Gang’ (or BTG as her and the girls liked to call it) pre-show rituals. 

Y/N was a part of a famous girl group who had just recently started making it big in Ba Sing Se and were on their first huge tour. Normally, this would make any performer nervous of the attention and putting on a big show, but this was the environment that she thrived in. 

Suki, Mai, Ty Lee, Azula, Yue, and herself all knew each other from an all-girl’s private school that they grew up in together and bonded immediately over their love for creating music. It was inevitable for them to become a group. 

They spent most of their high school days writing songs and joking around in Y/N’s backyard bungalow her parents had gotten her for her twelfth birthday. To this day, they still go back there and do hot (dumb) girl shit.

“Why would we stop? That’s our home, of course we’d still go back there!” Ty Lee answered the interviewer with her signature hair flip and giggle. 

Azula rolled her eyes at the girl, hiding a fond smile. “At this point, It’d be weird not to go back to that little corner of hell we made.” Yue smacked her arm quickly, “Azula! Don’t act like you haven’t written most of our top hits in the bean bag we definitely didn’t steal from the school lounge.” 

The rest of the girls laughed, remembering how they had to hop the gates and sneak past the night guards to be able to get the bean bag. The plan would’ve been a total waste of time and definitely would have gotten them all expelled if anyone had caught them, but thank Mai’s ability to pick locks (which no one knows where she learned to do but they do not question it). 

“Plus,” Suki chimed in. “Y/N’s dad makes the best snacks and meals for us. It’d be a federal crime to not take up that offer for as long as we can.”

Needless to say, the six girls were so comfortable with each other that every performance was just like every group practice with, like, thousands of extra guests of honor. They even have a couch lounge area as part of their stage set props. It just makes sense.

Even though those were her best friends ever, sisters even, Y/N had another friend group that she was super close with. Azula had introduced Y/N to her brother, Zuko, back when they were in their sophomore year of high school and the two instantly clicked. It had only taken a year of being friends and hiding crushes for them to get together, and the two were still going strong. Through him, Y/N met a gang of (crazy) people that he had spent his whole public schooling years.

Aang, an enthusiastic and bald, vegan kid who loved life and enjoyed everything around him; Katara, his pre-med and feminist girlfriend; Sokka, her hilarious and amazingly smart brother (though, sometimes his ideas are questionable); and Toph, a blind and tough girl who is on her way to ruin the top 1%. With Zuko, they were the tightest and happiest little family that automatically accepted Y/N when Zuko brought her over one night. 

She was there when he went through a pyromaniac phase, his varying hair styles, and when he tried to get his father’s love back.Ozai, their father, was the owner and CEO of a massive weapons corporation. He had burned Zuko’s face on a hot stove and kicked him out of the house for suggesting that he raise the wage of all his employees to a comfortable living wage because many of his employees struggled to provide for their families even though they worked their asses off. Thankfully, his kind Uncle Iroh instantly picked the boy up off of the streets, letting him live with him and run his successful tea shop called the Jasmine Dragon. 

Azula had been shoved away by her father mostly for sexist reasons. Ozai would never pass his company down to his daughter, no matter how smart and dedicated she was. He threw her in the private school where she lived year round. She had never told Y/N or any of the other girl’s any of this, Y/N had found out through Zuko.

Y/N’s mother was a successful lawyer and her father was a district attorney who were very very passionate about bringing justice to those of racial discrimination, domestic abuse, abuse in general, and orphan rights. Her mother was an orphan who was plain lucky to get adopted by a loving old couple who used their life savings to get her the education and life she deserved while her father was a victim of domestic abuse. 

So, after months of convincing Zuko, Y/N told her parents about the two siblings. Long story short, they got Ozai arrested for his abuse crimes, bribery history, employee mistreatment, and many more crimes. They also adopted Azula herself and gave full custody of Zuko to his uncle. 

Since then, the world has been peaceful for the group. Azula has started to recover from her trauma with the help of her friends, therapy, and love from two caring adults; and Zuko was glowing year round in the company of his uncle and friends. 

A smile forms on her face, thinking of her large family and all they’ve gone through to get here, when the door to her personal backstage room opened up. The loud voices from Aang and Sokka met her ears next. 

“I LOVE YOU SO MUCH YOU REMEMBERED THE HAM SANDWICHES WITH NO CRUST.” A kiss to her cheek and Sokka is instantly at her snack table.

“Y/N! How’d you know I was going to bring Appa and Momo?!” Aang walked his huge, white dog and lemur (don’t ask how he has it. It might be illegal, but no one can tell him no) to the pet bed corner she had put in. 

Not answering them, Y/N just smiles at her friends who barged in and turns back to her mirror where she’s trying to decide her earring combination for the day. Warm arms snake their way around her waist, a body sliding up against her back soon after. 

“What’s your ideas for tonight?” Zuko’s voice speaks quietly into her ear, causing her to hum and lean back against his chest slightly. 

“I’m not sure. We’re going for the edgy look tonight, but we all know Ty Lee is still going to wear pink. Man, our manager is going to kill her...again.” They both laugh. “Ugh, why did you let me pierce my ears, like, ten times. There’s too many combinations to choose from!”

“Me?! I did-- never mind. Just grab a handful, no one can see them from the stage anyways.” Despite his attempt to seem like he doesn’t care, one of his ring-clad fingers starts moving his favorite pieces over into a little pile by themselves. Y/N rolls her eyes and starts putting his choices in random holes in her ear, pushing him back lightly so she can bend over closer to the mirror to see better. 

“It’s the fit Zu… if the fit is a vibe, the confidence is there. If the confidence is there, nothing can stop my hot girl shit.” Her words cause him to let a huff of jealousy, flicking her arm playfully. 

Their eyes meet in the mirror, and he can clearly see the mischief in them. Calming down, he jokes back. “Yeah, well, you may do your ‘hot girl shit,’ but no one can steal you from me. We’ve been here too long.”

Toph cuts in from across the room with a loud laugh. “Please, fire brains, I could steal Y/N if I tried.” 

He whips around to face the short girl, “No you could not!!” 

“Actually, she makes a point.” Katara says, nodding along in hopes to pick fun at the boy. 

Sokka adds his two cents. “Honestly. Toph would just have to pick Y/N up and slam her against the wall or something and she’d tell her manager to send you a letter of resignation.” 

The whole group laughs, save for the angsty boy, and Y/N wraps her hand around his wrist. She pulls him towards her and reaches for a peck on the cheek. “While that may be true,” she gets a glare. “I’m too big of a simp for you… and Uncle Iroh’s dinner and game nights.”

While the rest of them laugh, Zuko’s eyes soften and he presses his lips to hers in a short, soft kiss. Uncle Iroh adores his girlfriend and everything she has done for Zuko and Azula where he had no power to do anything. The man calls her more than he does Zuko himself, and he’s pretty sure Y/N convinced him to download Words With Friends on his phone to play with her for when she can’t make it to the weekly game night dates. 

Y/N smiles up at him and pats his cheeks lovingly before moving to the wardrobe area of her room. She pulls out ‘Cards Against Humanity’ from a duffle bag on the floor before joining the rest of her friends around the lounge area, patting the seat beside her for Zuko to join them.

Everyone cheers at the sight of the black and white box with the many expansion packs that they have collected over the years. While Katara deals, everyone else makes bets on who is going to win this time. Y/N slides back into Zuko’s side as his arm comes to rest around her shoulders, playing with the ends of her H/L hair.

It’s about fifty minutes before the show is starting, and Y/N knows she has to start getting dressed and ready for the concert. Sighing, she slips from her boyfriend’s grasp (a small whine coming from him) and moves to her dressing corner. Suki, Ty Lee, Mai, Azula, and Yue had made their way to the room shortly after they started due to Sokka texting his girlfriend (Suki) to come over and join. 

The rest of the girls notice you get up and leave as well, much to everyone else’s dismay. You reassure them to keep playing a few more rounds, not wanting to ruin their fun with you putting clothes on. Y/N quickly shoves her outfit choice on which is very hot, black, and riddled with chains. To top it off, she had thick-heeled combat boots on with numerous buckles on them. Her hair, makeup, and accessories have already been done so she heads back to the group.

‘Cards Against Humanity’ has been packed up neatly and her friends are lounging around, getting last minute snacks and quality time before they go to their special seats right in front of the stage. Nothing but the best for her friends. Sokka and Katara are the first people to see her, and the former lets out his own wolf whistle in his own way to hype Y/N up. 

“DAMN, my best friend is HOT AS HELL. Zuko, you lucky ass man.” Katara hits him, but shoots her a wink as the rest of the gang look over. Y/N laughs giddily through their praises and hyped words (Toph in good spirit rather than actually seeing her outfit), as she makes her way back to her spot on the couch.

Zuko, who hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her yet, quickly grabs her bare waist and tugs her onto his lap to hold her tight. “So… this is what you meant by ‘hot girl shit.’” Letting out a loud laugh, Y/N turns her head and gives him a quick kiss. “I’m a rock star, baby, what can I say.” 

Aang cheers out of nowhere. “Yes! I’ve always wanted to be a groupie!” More laughter and jokes ring throughout the room, keeping the atmosphere as light as always, 

A knock at the door interrupts them. A man is standing there in all black with a headset on and a sleek, red (with little sparkles that only gleam in the light), electric guitar carefully caressed in his hands. While they are a girl group, their success has mainly come from being a girl group who also plays all their instruments. With Mai on the drums, Ty Lee on the keyboard, Azula and Y/N on electric guitars, Yue on the acoustic guitar, Suki on the bass; the band is truly a sight with all of them sharing the vocals and their enthusiastic (near crackhead) energy that give their crowd a good show. 

“Miss L/N? This is your five minute warning.” He tells them, not bothered by the usual group of people who are constantly in these rooms with her.

“Thanks Lee!” Y/N hops up to get her pride and joy (her child as Suki and Mai like to joke about). “I’ll be right out.”

Knowing these are the last pre-game minutes, everyone starts getting up to leave the room as well. Zuko lingers by Y/N who’s busy making sure her instrument is tuned perfectly for the numbers she’s about to perform. 

“I can feel you staring, Zu,” She smiles, still looking down at her strings. He huffs out a laugh, reaching out to push a piece of hair back to see her face.

“Good luck out there, my rock star. Don’t do too much hot girl shit.” 

“Oh, I’m doing all the hot girl shit.” A glare. “I’m kidding! I’m kidding… unless…?” She laughs at his fed up face. Reaching up, she presses one last, lingering kiss to his lips, enjoying the feeling of his fingers clutching her sides firmly and the feeling of his heart beat under her palm that’s resting on his chest. 

“Bye, love. I’ll see you after the show.” She whispers, sealing the promise with a kiss before moving back. “Alright kids! Get the hell out of my dressing room.” Y/N shouts at her friends and they all leave together, laughing away. 

The rest of them wish her luck before moving away, Sokka sprinting to find Suki one last time. Zuko holds onto her free hand, watching her laugh at ‘Simp Sokka’ with his small smile on his face. He kisses her hand, pulling her attention back to him. 

“Bye, rock star. I’ll see you after the show. Break a leg, yeah?” His cliche words make her laugh more, pulling away from him and towards the rest of her band who are chanting “BTG! BTG!”. 

“Zu… I don’t break legs. I break hearts.” And with one last mischievous look, she mouths ‘hot girl shit’ and struts away in that way that makes Zuko want to make her cancel the show completely. 

His phone buzzes a few minutes after he caught up with his friends in their special closed off section on the floor. He opens the notification and it sends him to Instagram where Y/N had tagged him in a post. The smile grows on his face with every second he takes in the post. 

Katara must’ve taken the picture. The angle, lighting, and quality could only be done by her. Y/N was on his lap, dressed to go on stage. Zuko’s mouth was almost touching her ear, definitely when he was whispering to her, and her face was wide in a smirk. They looked good, perfect even. The caption is what made him laugh, warmth and pride that she is his spreading through his chest. 

“Y/N_L/N: for him? I’m always on my hot girl shit”

[missturtleduck]

Hi, could I request a sokka x reader fic? Where the reader has really bad vision/with glasses and is super insecure about the way she looks (along with her body, not just her face) and she always jokes about her appearence. But one day sokka realizes its not a joke and he tells her he likes her for who she is, not how she looks? And its just super fluffy and sweet? Thank u! :)

So, I began writing this Xmas morning, and finished it sometime the day after? It’s short and sweet, and I hope you like it <3

Soft

Sokka x insecure!Reader

TW: Themes of insecurity/body image

Out of all her siblings, Y/N felt as though she was always a little different.

Being in the middle, she had looked up to her elder sister, who was beautiful and kind for no reason. Y/N had looked on in silent awe as her sister evaded conflict and quietly defied the Fire Nation troops who has invaded their village. Then, she had watched her younger brother grow up from some chubby baby with dumpling sized fists and rosy cheeks to the blueprint for a warrior. By the age of fourteen, he had grown adept in his earthbending – an ability he fought hard to keep from the soldiers outside their door. Even his parents, both non-benders, were remarkable in her eyes. 

When she looked at herself, however, it was a different story.

After she turned three, her father fashioned her some glasses out of copper wire and sea glass until they could afford to buy some proper ones when she stopped growing so fast. She saw the world through green tinted lenses for many years. It was only many years later that she was given a proper pair of them and they became the most precious thing she owned.

When she didn’t have them on, Y/N was practically blind. This was extreme enough that her mother had trained a goat dog to be her animal guide if she ever lost or broke her glasses. Yes, they were precious, and Y/N loved seeing the world, but there were certain things she didn’t like.

Impressed by her astute observations and quick manipulation of some Fire Nation soldiers, the Avatar – yes, that Avatar – invited her away from her small village to come and help save the world.

“I don’t know why yet,” The young monk said with an honest smile, “But I feel like you have an important destiny and it intersects with mine.”

Whatever that meant.

Being away from home was marvellous. Of course, Y/N missed her family, but she felt like suddenly she could carve her own path, separate herself from the unit that was her family. No longer did she feel compared to her patient, stunning sister or her talented, muscular brother. She could breathe knowing she could just be her, and that was okay.

And then she looked a little closer.

There was the natural bender envy that came with travelling with the Avatar – who could live up to him anyway? But then Katara comes along, younger than her and completely beautiful, and masters so much so quickly. Toph was even worse. Y/N loved Toph; she was quick, funny, and they could relate on quite a few things, but she was powerful, and never had to worry about how she looked. Even Sokka, sarcastic and reliable, was good-looking and extremely useful on the battlefield.

She watched, absorbed, and learnt what she thought was best. How does Toph come across as so tough? Ironically, she was very ‘earthbender’ in that approach; she deflected. And Sokka? Well, he was the funniest person Y/N had ever met.

It was good, for a start. If she could joke about how she was feeling, she could be more self-aware, become more empathetic.

“Hey, Sokka,” Toph grinned, for once enjoying riding on Appa’s back. “You know what’s great about being blind?”

He sighed, a smile toying on his lips. “No, do go on and tell me, oh Blind Bandit.”

“Firstly, I don’t have to see you in a morning, or ever!” She said, that joking malice seeping into her voice, much to Sokka’s chagrin. “Also, I don’t ever have to worry about my appearance! I don’t even know what green looks like, and apparently it’s all I wear.”

Y/N snorted. “You’re lucky you don’t have to see me in a morning, Toph. I look like a floundering tiger seal. Sometimes I take my glasses off just so I don’t have to look in the mirror!”

The two girls cackled between each other, dissolving into conspiratorial snickers. Truly, Toph was Y/N’s best friend, as much as she loved everyone else. Even Noodle, her beloved goat dog, seemed inclined to love the earthbender too. Seeing if he was also in on their joke, Y/N looked at Sokka with a grin. He wasn’t. In fact, his face was scrunched up into a frown.

“You good, Sokka?” She asked, her smile slowly seeping away the longer she looked at him.

“Yeah,” He said, still frowning. “I’m good, don’t worry about it.”

When someone said don’t worry about it, Y/N usually understood that to mean she should worry about it, but that was just her experience. How, in laughing with Toph, had she could she have offended Sokka?

Trying to ignore the festering feeling in her stomach, Y/N continued to joke with Toph about a number of things in the same vein. Somehow that one look from Sokka made all of her jibes feel poisonous. It wasn’t exactly his fault, but she felt sick with every self-deprecating joke, her laughter dwindling until she settled into an uncomfortable silence, cheek rested against Toph’s shoulder.

As they came to the ground somewhere in the Fire Nation, Y/N hopped off Appa’s back with haste, that ache in her stomach increasing to a swell of nausea. She hadn’t felt this way in months. If she could, she’d step out of her skin. A word floated through her mind, swirling and deepening into her psyche: inadequate.

Breathing a bit heavier, she moved away from her friends, taking solace by a river. Distorted in the ripples, she saw her reflection. All the negative feelings pent up in her chest were flooding back. In a fit of rage, marred with far more complex emotions, Y/N ripped her glasses off her face and threw them to the ground. Her mind felt loud, clouded and thundering. The thoughts were sharp bursts of flurrying intensity.

“Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa.”

Y/N whipped her head around. She didn’t have to see to know Sokka’s voice; he must have followed her, she thought, rubbing the heels of her palms into her tear-filled eyes.

“Hey, you dropped your glasses,” Sokka said, gently prying one of her balled fists open and placing them there. “Are you okay?”

She sniffed, fiddling with her glasses. “Are you upset with me?”

“No!” He said, sounding taken aback by her question.

“It’s just,” She sighed, “You seemed mad at me when I was joking about with Toph.”

Sokka, too, sighed, grasping her shoulder. “Y/N, I was worried.”

His hand was warm, and Y/N slipped her glasses back on her face. He wasn’t frowning; a smile soft enough to make her melt was playing on his lips. Concern was painted across his face, delicate and understanding. Sokka wasn’t mad at her.

“Can– “ Sokka began, hand falling, voice stammering.

“Yes?” Y/N prompted, looking up at him, shy beneath her lashes.

“Can I tell you something?” He asked, fiddling with his thumbs.

Y/N nodded, looking at him with patient curiosity. A small smile was blooming on her face as she watched him trip over incoherent words, until he quietened. Sokka inhaled sharply. In a moment, his hands were cupping her face, his lips on her, ghosting softer than a feathers touch. Soft.

“Oh,” She gasped as he pulled back, hands staying close to her, thumb brushing over her cheek.

“You’re beautiful,” Sokka said, face honest as he looked at her with unbridled affection.

Guilt settled in her stomach as she looked down. “I don’t feel beautiful, Sokka.”

“That’s okay,” He smiled, pecking her cheek with a kiss; he seemed to punctuate each of his words with a kiss on her cheeks, lips, head, and anywhere else he could reach. “We can change that, yeah?”

Taking a deep breath, Y/N let his words wash over her, drowning out her spiralling thoughts. She rested her head on his chest and welcomed the arms he wrapped around her. “We can try.”

“Try is good enough for me.”

Y/N could hear the grin in his voice as held her tighter. He was meticulous with his kisses, whispering sweet nothings that felt like everything to her. Yes, she wasn’t like her siblings, nor the benders that surrounded her, but Sokka sure seemed glad that she was her.

[royalblue-star]

santa fe- zuko

Pairing: Zuko x Reader

Song: Santa Fe from Disney’s 1992 Newsies

Summary: After weeks of seeing  families and friends reuniting, the reader gets fed up with it and hides behind false dreams. But Zuko is there to led them out of the dark and back into the light.

(Gif not mine)

It was a beautiful sight, getting to see everyone reunite with their friends and family. Katara and Sokka reunited with their father on multiple occasions, Toph found friendship with the people she used to fight against, and even Zuko was about to see his uncle again. I, however, had no one.

So that's what they call a family,

Mother, daughter, father, son

Guess that everything you heard about is true.

For as long as I can remember, it's been me against the world. I don't have many memories of my family. I remember bits and pieces of but not enough for them to feel real. Sometimes it feels like I dreamt them up for comfort as a child. I didn't need anyone. I was perfectly fine on my own, as had been and always will be. Sure, I had the Gaang, but that wasn't the same. As soon as this war ended, we would part ways and occasionally meet up.

So you ain't got any family,

Well, who said you needed one?

Ain't you glad nobody’s waiting up for you?

Besides, I had dreams to pursue after the war. I was going to head east and find the end of the world. I was going to meet all kinds of people, and no one would be here to stop me. I'll be able to prove that I am just fine on my own. That my dreams can come true, and anyone who stands in my way will regret it!

When I dream, on my own

I'm alone but I ain't lonely.

For a dreamer, nights the only time of day.

Currently, I was sitting in the tent that the Order of the White Lotus had provided, mapping out my adventure. Papers smothered in ink were scattered everywhere. The sound of scratching of my pen on paper was an attempt to drown out the noise from outside. It turns out everyone, except me, knew someone from the Order personally. Even Toph was friendly with General Iroh! I saw no reason to exit this tent and squash the rekindled relationships with my awkward presence. Besides, we were making our attack on the Fire Nation in a few days, and everyone probably wanted time with their old mentors.

"(Y/N)?"

I turned around to find Zuko, entering through the tent flap.

"Hey! Did you talk to your Uncle?"

When the cities finally sleeping,

All my thoughts begin to stray

And I'm on the train that's bound for

Santa Fe

"He forgave me after everything I did."

"Zuko, that's amazing! I told you he would forgive you."

"Yeah, you were right." He said, but I could tell he had something more on his mind.

"Is there something else you wanted to tell me?"

"I went looking for you, but you weren't there. Have you been in here this whole time?" He glanced down at the papers I had sprawled out everywhere.

"Yeah, I've been... planning."

And I'm free, like the wind

Like I'm gonna live forever.

It's feeling time can never take away.

I could tell by the look on his face that he knew what I meant by planning. That was something I loved about Zuko. He could tell how I was feeling just by looking at me. We had spent many late nights together telling stories and laughing. We had an undeniably strong bond, which for me had turned into a little crush.

"Why don't you come out and join everyone? You'll only tire yourself out before the battle even starts." He was right. I would end up overworking myself, but it seemed worth it just to avoid the pain of seeing people with their loved ones.

"That's okay. I wouldn't want to interrupt anyway."

"What do you mean?" He moved to sit down on the floor next to me. "You wouldn't be interrupting anything."

All I needs a few more dollars

And I'm out of here to say,

Dreams come true,

Yes they do

In Santa Fe

"Zuko," I sighed. "I don't have a reason to go out there. I'd just be in the way of everyone's happiness and reunions. In case you hadn't noticed, I don't exactly have anyone waiting for me."

"Yes, you do." His reply came instantly. "Sokka, Katara, Aang, Toph, me- They are all your family. I know it might not be what you had dreamed, but you have people that care about you. I care about you."

Where does it say you've gotta live and die here?

Where does it say a guy can't catch a break?

Tears pooled into my eyes. I guess I had been ignoring the family I had right in front of me. The Gaang was more than just a group of friends, we were a family, I was just too stubborn to see it.

"Look at you, Zuko. You got me all emotional." I joked.

"I'm being serious (Y/N). You mean the world to me."

"Thank you, Zuko, for being here. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Why should you only take what you're given?

Why should you spend your whole living

Trapped where there ain't no future,

Even at 17.

Breaking your back for someone else's sake?

He smiled and pulled me to my feet. "Come on, there's someone who wants to talk to you."

I let him lead me through the camp. Surprisingly, the sight of everyone sitting with their respective master was heartwarming and not as painful as I thought.

The thought of families being together used to leave me jealous and disgusted because I never actually had my own. But now I did, and the feelings of envy went away. They were replaced by a yearning that I had buried deep into my soul. Although, right next to the yearning there was a hint of comfort and peace.

If the life don't seem to suit ya,

How 'bout a change in scene,

Far from the lousy headlines

Or the deadlines in between.

Zuko led me inside a rather large tent in the center of the camp. In the middle of it sat an older man brewing a pot of tea. The man looked up at the two of us once we entered and smiled.

"Ah, is this the lovely (Y/N) that I've heard so much about?"

"Uncle, this is (Y/N). (Y/N) this is my Uncle."

General Iroh's smile was pleasant and comforting. So far, he seemed to be just as amazing as Zuko made him out to be. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, sir."

"There is no need for the formalities, dear. Please sit and enjoy some tea. You look like a jasmine tea girl."

"How did you-?" I questioned, taking a seat next to Zuko.

"Don't ask," Zuko whispered, causing me to giggle.

"So (Y/N)," Iroh began while pouring the three of us each a cup of tea. "My nephew tells me that you were the young lady to help him find a new source to draw his bending from."

Zuko and I both choked on our tea. What was that supposed to mean? I mean yeah, I told him to look inside himself and find something that brought out a feeling of passion, but that was it. Right?

"Uncle." Zuko hissed.

The old general chuckled, "I'm only kidding Prince Zuko," A mischievous twinkle had worked its way into the old man's eye.

'This is the first time I've met one of your lady friends."

"Uncle."

Santa Fe, are you there?

Do you swear you won't forget me?

If I found you would you let me come and stay?

The three of us sat and talked for a while longer before Zuko excused us from the tent. The prince had led me through the camp to where one of the empty bonfires was.

"Your uncle is a very fascinating man," I noted, laying my head on Zuko's chest.

"He is, isn't he." He chuckled. "He seemed to really like you."

"Now, I do have one little question for you."

"And what would that be?"

I angled my head to look him in the eyes. "How did your uncle know that I liked jasmine tea?"

Zuko's heartbeat sped up significantly. I mean, that thing was working so fast I thought the poor boy would pass out.

"I might've told him about you."

"Aw, Zuko, that's so sweet." I smiled up at him. His cheeks turned a bright shade of pink.

"I told him that you were the best thing to ever happen to me. I told him that you were the source of passion for my bending. And I told him that I liked you.. a lot."

Now it was my turn for the heartbeat to go wild. So many thoughts were running through my head. "Zuko I-"

"I understand if you don't feel the same-"

"Zuko."

"I just thought you should know-"

"Zuko."

"-Before the comet comes and the war is either-"

I crashed my lips onto his. It took a second for him to comprehend what was happening, but I felt him kiss back. The passion behind it was so intense like we had waited too long to finally confess to each other. But each us needed to find ourselves before we could move forwards, and we had finally succeeded in doing that.

I ain't getting any younger

And before my dying days,

I want space

Not just air!

"Now will you listen," I mused once we broke the kiss. "I don't know how else to tell you if that kiss didn't send the message, but I like you. A lot."

"You do?"

"Of course I do, you idiot! I wouldn't have kissed you if I didn't."

"Will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend then?"

"You didn't need to ask."

Save a place,

I'll be there.

I did have a family. My family was the Gaang. Zuko was my family, I was just too blind to see it before. My dreams to escape had revealed themselves to be an attempt to fill the hole in my heart. Except I didn't know that it was already filled

So that's what they call a family,

Ain't you glad you ain't that way?

Ain't you glad you got a dream called,

Santa Fe.

TAGS

@fanficflaneuse​

[watchathon]

Avatar: The Last Airbender, Series Finale: Sozin’s Comet

In case you’re finding this post just by browsing the tags I’ve used for this post, this is the Watchathon, a blog where I’m hoping to watch an episode of a TV show every weekday, with a short blog post where I write down my thoughts as I watch. Each new thought starts with a hyphen and a bolded first word.

- Like so. Now that the introductions are over with, it’s time to break that one-episode-a-day rule and finish off Avatar: The Last Airbender with the climactic grand finale, Sozin’s Comet:

PART 1: THE PHOENIX KING

- Okay, so, Katara in the intro is still saying “He has a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone.” I could’ve sworn they removed that part by this point... Maybe that was just something for the DVD?

- I like that the “Previously on” segment is so long. It really emphasizes how much buildup there was to this. How much the Gaang has been through to get here.

- I gotta say, I was not expecting a beach party in this episode.

- Somehow, for reasons I can’t explain because I don’t understand them myself, this ambush from Zuko made the audio of Nicolas Cage saying “Surprise attack!” in Into the Spider-Verse play in my head.

- Zuko’s really lucky that he earned Katara’s forgiveness before this violent pop quiz, seeing as just a half season ago... “You take one step backwards... one slip up... give me one reason to think you might hurt Aang - and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I'll make sure your destiny ends right then and there. Permanently.”

- It never occurred to me that we didn’t get details on the war meeting before now.

- I’d bet hearing about this plan is the thing that tipped the scales and fully convinced Zuko to join the Gaang, and prevent the genocide of the Earth Kingdom.

- It’s so nice to see Zuko being welcomed into the group hugs. Especially when it’s Katara who invites him.

- I like that Zuko is teaching Aang to redirect lightning, the same way Iroh taught him.

- Even before it’s made explicit, you can tell that Aang’s uneasy about the idea of killing.

- Toph is just delighting in her role as Melon Lord, isn’t she?

- Someone out there has definitely written an AU fanfic where someone gets killed during this training and it’s Toph’s origin story as the malicious Melon Lord. If not, then I will write it myself, and it shall be the crackiest crack fic that ever cracked.

- Y’know what, I wish Toph could’ve actually gone on a life-changing field trip with Zuko too! Everyone else got one...

- This scene of Sokka climbing into Appa’s mouth is even more uncomfortable once you’ve... well, once you’ve grown up and... Okay, I tried to put it subtly, but I just can’t: Once you’ve been cursed with the knowledge of what vore is.

- Well, there’s a bait-and-switch if I’ve ever seen one: “Azula, you’re the new Fire Lord!” “=)” “But I am now the Phoenix King and still your superior who you will answer to.” “=O”

- Nice to see June and her Shirshu make a comeback.

- Does this mean Aang wasn’t running away on purpose? I honestly thought he was just going to that island to get some alone time, maybe meditate or contact the previous Avatars’ spirits.

PART 2: THE OLD MASTERS

- I’m not sure if this is something I forgot from June’s first appearance, or if it’s actually just never been brought up before, but I didn’t know her Shirshu had a name.

- It’s sweet that Zuko is seeking out Iroh’s help. Even if the method of finding him is, ah, well... unorthodox.

- Even Avatar Roku doesn’t know where Aang is. And here I thought it was some Avatar thing that had never been brought up before.

- It’s nice to see these people make a comeback. Bumi, Piandao, even Jeong Jeong and Master Pakku are here for the finale.

- I am surprised that we didn’t get an interaction between Toph and Bumi, though. The man Aang wanted to teach him Earthbending, the girl who ended up doing it... But I guess there’s only so much time, and I don’t think there’s any scenes that could be deleted to make room for it.

- It seems like Aang is just searching for confirmation of his beliefs, rather than actually seeking wisdom.

- I like that we get to see Bumi taking full advantage of the eclipse to take back Omashu from the Fire Nation, instead of just being told about it.

- It’s nice to see so many past Avatars beyond just Roku and Kyoshi, Avatars that we never heard of before, but now we hear their stories. But all of these past Avatars echo the same sentiment that Aang should kill Ozai, even an Air Nomad Avatar.

- What can I say about this scene of Zuko and Iroh reuniting? Forgive me for echoing a post I made on my main blog, but this is a scene that’s both sweet and sad.

Sad, because Zuko’s abuse at the hands of Fire Lord Ozai left him anxiously expecting furious punishment for crimes much less than what he did to Iroh. He can’t even comprehend the idea that Iroh would forgive him. His expression while apologizing to Iroh clearly shows he’s expecting the worst.

Sweet, because Iroh still loves Zuko like his own son, and doesn’t even need to forgive him because he never felt anger at Zuko’s betrayal: Only sadness and a worry that Zuko had lost his way, truly lost his honor. And Iroh is so clearly happy to see that Zuko has found his destiny, and joined the fight against the Fire Nation.

I could go on and on about this scene... It’s my absolute favorite scene in the whole series and it brings me to tears every single time I see it.

Gosh... it’s gonna be so awkward going back to the jokes and little mundane thoughts after this, isn’t it?

- Okay, I have officially given up on the idea of finding out what the heck this island is.

- I like the smile on Katara’s face, when she’s asked to team up with Zuko and fight Azula.

- It’s nice to know that Iroh will get the opportunity to run that tea shop, even if Zuko won’t be there to work with him.

- Okay, okay, so the island was actually a lion turtle. Frankly, I’ve still got a lot of questions. Even some new ones.

- It’s nice to see that the Netlix subtitles aren’t ALLCAPS anymore.

PART 3: INTO THE INFERNO

- Gotta hand it to the music, it can make even a scene of Azula making a fuss over a non-pitted cherry rather unnerving.

- Azula’s... Azula-ness has gone straight up to eleven with her newfound role. Hasn’t it? What with all the banishments, even banishing the entire Dai Li.

- Sokka, Suki and Toph are the real dream team. 

- And we get a great final blind joke!

- I like that we get to see everyone doing their part in this final battle. All the members of the Gaang, even the White Lotus, get their moments to shine.

- The hallucination of Ursa shows that Azula, on some level, has an idea of what’s wrong with her. You can tell that they were thinking of a redemption arc for Azula come Book 4, though I am glad that didn’t happen.

- It’s chilling to see Ozai razing the forests of the Earth Kingdom like it’s nothing. And then to realize that this is what Aang will have to face.

- At first I wasn’t sure what Sokka’s plan was, but now that I see it in action, it’s really creative.

- I like the idea of a final one-on-one Zuko vs Azula duel(...a). It’s been a rivalry since Book 2, and it’s nice to finally see it get settled, even if I can’t imagine it’ll end up that easy: Otherwise, what would Katara do?

- It’s so cool to see Aang showing his prowess in all bending techniques, using them all in this final showdown.

- The background music during Zuko and Azula’s Agni Kai really sells it. It makes it sound almost tragic, and it is: two siblings pitted against each other, no choice but to fight to determine the future of the world.

- Azula might be slipping, but she’s still Azula, all too willing to cheat in what’s supposed to be a one-on-one duel.

PART 4: AVATAR AANG

- Netflix isn’t showing the intro for the individual parts, but I’ve gotta say... There’s no way that Katara’s still saying Aang’s “got a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone.” Right?

- I like that we get to see one last use of Metalbending from Toph in the finale.

- Dang, I hope this isn’t really the end for Sokka’s sword, or his boomerang. Especially when the sword was so cool, and one could say meaningful.

- I honestly wasn’t sure the Avatar State would ever be a factor again. But if there was ever a time, this is it. (ADDENDUM: This is probably the best time to clarify that I find and add the images at the start after writing the rest of the post.)

- And it’s so epic to see Aang bending all four elements at once.

- I like that Iroh got to burn down the Fire Nation flag.

- Since Zuko’s down for the count, I guess this means a battle between Katara and Azula, the latter powered up by Sozin’s Comet.

- To be honest, I could barely make out what Azula just said. “kjsdbksrbfkjvf family position to look after, kdcbkfh”?

- Katara may not be stronger than Sozin’s Comet-powered Azula, but she’s much more clever than Azula is right now as she loses her marbles.

- This is just the perfect kind of defeat for Azula. There’s no grace to it, no dignity, just writhing around, screaming and spewing fire as Zuko and Katara look on with pity.

- There’s probably a great practical reason someone could find for Spiritbending being a thing, but here’s why I’m glad it exists: Aang gets a happy ending. He gets to take down the Fire Lord, and hold true to his beliefs. If it weren’t for Spiritbending, if Aang killed Ozai, then he would be conflicted to the end.

And I don’t want that. I want Aang to get an unambiguously, undoubtedly happy ending, where the world is saved and that’s all there is to it.

Plus, Spiritbending is quite the spectacle.

- I’m guessing Sokka’s space sword and boomerang really are done for. But hey, there’s always headcanon. Maybe Sokka searched the forest and eventually found them.

- Weird to think that Ty Lee’s gonna be a Kyoshi Warrior.

- Again, I can’t believe Zukaang’s not the most popular Zuko ship in the fandom. Not a ship I’ll go to bat for, but it’s got all the hallmarks of a fan-preferred couple.

- It’s so nice to see Zuko’s coronation, and the official end to the war. It’s a happy ending for the whole world, the start of an era of peace.

- “Love and peace,” huh...? Now that’s funny to hear in the finale to this show, considering the next show I’m covering, come 2021...

- I like that we get to see one last confrontation between Zuko and Ozai. Even if Zuko’s question of where Ursa is doesn’t go anywhere (in the show, I know they touch on that in the comics), it’s nice to see the newly-crowned Fire Lord Zuko having evolved past a need for Ozai’s attention, or a fear of Ozai’s wrath.

- It’s nice to see the whole Gaang having fun at Iroh’s tea shop, in the end. And I stand corrected, this is where we get the final blind joke.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I’m lucky in that most of my childhood cartoons hold up as an adult. I watched Kim Possible, Phineas and Ferb, Code Lyoko, Courage the Cowardly Dog...

Still, there’s something special about Avatar: The Last Airbender. It had a unique aesthetic and world that no other show was quite like. It had a story that was like nothing I’d ever seen as a kid.

And it doesn’t just hold up, it’s even better.

When I was a kid, it was as simple as rooting for the good guys to win, and for the Firebenders to lose, except for Zuko once he turned good.

Now, as an adult (but mostly as someone with a DVD player/Netflix account so I’m not just watching whatever reruns I can catch) I can appreciate the character development, the arcs, the entire story.

I can appreciate how Aang grew from a little boy who does indeed have a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone, into a hero who could save the world.

I can appreciate how Zuko was an abuse victim who did what all abused children wish they could do and left his abuser.

I can appreciate... Gosh, Iroh’s entire character and dynamic with Zuko.

Some people say that Avatar “starts off as a kids show, then turns serious”, but I’d disagree. Avatar is a show where our heroes change, where they learn lessons, where they come of age and become the kind of heroes who can end a war that’s been going on for over a century.

As relieved as I am to be (mostly) done with these posts for the rest of the year, I am still oh-so-glad that I’ve rewatched Avatar yet again, and I know that I will be whenever I rewatch it in the future.

Now, with all that said... Farewell! Until the Christmas special, at least...

[stupouid]

Unity (ATLA boys x reader) Chapter 3

returA/N hey guys!! sorry it took so long to get chapter 3! I literally could not find a plot for this chapter, so i decided to skip the desert. 

Chapter 2|Chapter 3

Word count: 3210 words

Chapter 3

The Desert (i am aware that i skipped a lot of episodes I just don’t want it to bee too long)

Traveling with the GAang was interesting. To kill time Aang told Y/N stories of how King Bumi was like as a kid. Y/N was extremely fascinated by these anecdotes, and amazed by how everyone could travel freely throughout the four nations 100 years ago. She wanted to participate in the story-telling too, so she told Aang some of the stories her mother had told her about her travels, and this shocked Aang as well. Soon the two realized that a century ago traveling rules were less strict than they were twenty years ago. 

Everyone in the group was quite fond of Y/N. Katara was grateful to have another girl in the group so she would have someone to rant to whenever Sokka did something disgusting. Aang was grateful to have someone help him locate his next destination, as Sokka and Katara had never been outside of the south pole. And Sokka was grateful that there was someone who would listen to his jokes or agree with his crazy ideas. 

Sokka would be lying if he denied the fact that he was feeling some sort of connection to Y/N. He always wanted to be around her for some reason, and every little thing she did would be engraved in his mind. If Y/N played with her h/c locks, Sokka would save that and think about it when he had nothing else to think about. If Y/N laughed at one of his jokes, he would automatically analyze said joke, and try to make more jokes like that one. If Y/N gave him a compliment on something of his or suggested he do something, he would think about that constantly and change whatever Y/N suggested.

I could say that Y/N felt the same about him, but I would be lying, and fRiEnDs DoN’t LiE. Y/N couldn’t stop thinking about Zuko, and wondering how he was doing. She may have not felt any romantic feelings for him, but that doesn't mean she couldn’t think about her friend. 

Weeks had passed and the GAang had a new member, an earthbender named Toph. Y/N and Toph had hit it right away, their personalities instantly clicking. And the similarities in the ways they were treated when they were younger made them closer, if anything. Toph was treated as a helpless, blind, little girl even though she was an extremely talented earth bender. Y/N’s parents treated her well, but Azula made her feel useless since she had no bending. And after Y/N’s mother died, Y/N’s father had neglected and emotionally abused her. So yeah, the two girls had been through a lot. 

As of right now, the 5 teens were walking through the desert, without Appa because he had been taken by sandbenders for money. As usual, Y/N tuned out of the conversation (more like an argument) that was between Toph and Aang about how Toph let Appa go away. 

“I’m going after Appa,” Aang shouted in a harsh tone. He then flew off with his glider.

“Aang! Wait!” Katara shouted, running to the spot where he took off from. Y/N walked over to KAtara and placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

“We'd better start walking,” Y/N started. “We're the only people who know about the solar eclipse. We have to get that information to Ba Sing Se.” The teens, minus Aang, then started to walk towards the same direction Aang flew off in. 

“You think if we dig out the giant owl, he'll give us a ride?” Sokka questioned. Y/N laughed and punched his shoulder playfully.

-

Sokka, Katara, Toph and Y/N had been walking in the desert for at least an hour now. The sun was scorching hot, and much to Sokka’s delight, Y/N had taken off the top layer of her outfit, leaving her in a tank top that showed off her smooth, s/c, arms. Annoyed by the sun, Y/N took Momo off of Sokka’s back and used his wings to create some shade. Sokka, obviously annoyed because he could’ve done the same, was about to protest when he crashed into Toph. 

“Hey! Can’t you watch where you’re-” Sokka stopped his sentence after realizing what he’d said.

“No.” Toph hissed.

“Right. Sorry!” Sokka replied bashfully. Katara turned around to face the rest of the group.

“Come on guys, we’ve got to stick together!” Katara announced. During the short time Katara spoke, Sokka had accidentally stuck his clothes to Y/N, and was trying to free himself by pushing her away. Luckily for him, Y/N was trying her hardest to help him out too. 

“If Sokka sweats anymore, I don’t think it will be a problem!” Y/N shouted, struggling to get the boy off of her. Toph, who was even more annoyed, pushed Sokka to the ground, separating the two at last. 

“Katara, can I have some water?” Toph asked politely.

“Okay, but we’ve got to try to conserve it.” Katara bended four blobs of water out of her pouch into the mouths of Sokka, Toph, and Momo. When she noticed Y/N wasn’t accepting it, she asked, “Y/N? Don’t you want any?”

Y/N replied with, “I’m fine. Really.” 

“Y/N! You have to drink some! If not you’ll pass out because of dehydration!” Sokka shouted.

“Okay, dad!” Y/N groaned. She accepted the blob of water Katara had bended her way. 

Smacking his lips, Sokka said, “We're drinking your bending water. You used this on the swamp guy! Urch!” Y/N started to laugh, but ended up coughing after registering the taste of the water. Worried, Sokka patted her on the back repeatedly until she wasn’t coughing anymore. 

“It does taste swampy.” Toph giggled. Momo whined at the taste.

“I’m sorry, it’s all we have.” Katara mumbled bashfully.

“Not anymore!” Sokka shouted. “Look!” He walked over to a random cactus plant that was in their path. He cut off a piece and drank the liquid inside.

“Sokka, wait! You shouldn’t be eating strange plants!” Katara shouted with worry, running over to him. Curious, Y/N joined the two siblings. 

“There’s water trapped inside these!” Sokka shouted. He offered some to Y/N, and she took a tiny sip. She instantly felt lighter.

“I don’t know…” Katara started.

“It’s thirst quenching though! If that helps!” Y/N proclaimed. A little juice dribbled onto her chin and Sokka wiped it off. Blushing, Y/N punched Sokka again. He paid no attention to the punch as some sort of trance overtook him.

“Drink cactus juice. It'll quench ya! Nothing's quenchier. It's the quenchiest!” Katara grabbed his drink and poured it away.

“Okay, I think you’ve had enough.” Katara laughed. “Y/N, will you watch him?”

“Sure!” Y/N answered, still laughing. She grabbed Sokka and lockerd their arms together so he wouldn’t get away.

“Hey pretty lady!” Sokka shouted, dragging out the ‘y’ in ‘hey’. “Are we married?”

Still laughing, Y/N replied with, “Sure. We live in Omashu, and we adopted three turtle ducks. One’s named Toph, one’s named Katara, and the last one is named Aang. Sounds nice, right?”

“Anything’s nice as long as I’m with you!” Sokka sang out with a lovestruck expression on his face. He leaned towards Y/N for a kiss, but she only shoved his head away from hers. “Who lit Toph on fire?”

-

“I'm sorry, Aang. I know it's hard for you right now but ... we need to focus on getting out of here.” Aang had recently joined the group again and Katara was trying her best to comfort the airbender. 

“What's the difference? We won't survive without Appa. We all know it.” This surprised Y/N. In the short time she had known the Avatar, he was always positive, no matter the situation. 

“Aang. If we work together, we can find Appa. Stay positive! Right Toph? Katara?” Y/N looked to the girls for affirmation.

“As far as I can feel, we're trapped in a giant bowl of sand pudding. I got nothin'.” Toph sighed. Frustrated, Y/N turned to her last resort.

“Sokka? Care to share any knowledge as to how we could reach Ba Sing Se?” Y/N was standing next to Sokka’s body, which was lying on the sand with Momo right next to him.

“Why don't we ask the circle birds?” Sokka responded nonchalantly. Groaning, Y/N looked at the sky, only to see four buzzard wasps circling above their heads. Katara grabbed her head in annoyance. 

“Ugh ... We're getting out of this desert, and we're going to do it together! Aang, get up. Everybody, hold hands. We can do this. We have to.” Katara grabbed Aang’s hand and Aang grabbed Toph’s. Katara used her other hand to grab Y/N’s and Y/N used all her strength to tug Sokka from the ground. Sokka stood up and placed Momo on his back. 

-

Y/N was sleeping peacefully next to Sokka when she was abruptly woken up by Katara shouting, “Come on, get up! We need to go.” Groaning, Toph, Y/N and Sokka all rose up from the place they decided to rest. 

“Yesterday my mouth tasted like mud. Now it just tastes like sand. I never thought I'd miss the taste of mud so much.” Y/N was going to laugh but she started coughing again, much like last time when Toph had registered the taste of the water. Sokka instinctively patted her back repeatedly while Katara went to wake up Aang.

“I’m awake,” Aang stated. “I couldn’t sleep.” 

Nodding, Katara responded to the boy with, “Well, we need to get moving if we want to get out of this sand pit.” Aang quickly sat up as he noticed a sky-bison like silhouette floating by the moon.

“Appa!” Aang shouted, trying to get it’s attention.

“Appa‌? But why would Princess Yue need him‌? She's the moon! She flies by herself!” Sokka questioned as he grabbed Y/N’s hand, using it to rub his cheek. Y/N smacked him on the head, obviously weirded out. 

“It's just a cloud.” Katara stated sadly, referring to the sky-bison-like object in the sky. “Wait! A cloud! Aang, fly up and bend the water from that cloud into my pouch.” Aang scoffed, obviously annoyed and agitated, but did as the girl said. When he landed on the ground, he threw Katara’s pouch at her. She looked in, only to be disappointed.

“Wow ... there's hardly any in here.” Aang sighed loudly.

“I'm sorry, okay! It's a desert cloud; I did all I could! What's anyone else doing?! What are you doing‌?!” Katara and Y/N were shocked. Aang had never acted like this before. Katara shook her head.

“Trying to keep everyone together. Let's just get moving. We need to head this direction.” The group walked towards the direction Katara had set them up in silence until Toph tripped and fell on her face. Worried, Y/N let go of Sokka and Katara’s hands to check up on the earthbender.

“Ow! Crud! I am so sick of not feeling where I'm going!” Toph shouted, pointing to the rock-like object she tripped on. “And what idiot buried a boat in the middle of the desert‌?”

“A boat?” Y/N asked. Katara ran over to observe the object.

“Believe me, I kicked it hard enough to feel plenty of vibrations.” By now Sokka and Aang had joined the three girls to observe the object. Aang motioned everyone to step back, and used his airbending to get rid of the sand, revealing a boat like contraption.

“It’s a glider! Like the one sandbenders use!” Y/N exclaimed. Sokka clapped his hand onto her back. 

“Look!” Katara shouted. “It's got some kind of compass on it! I bet it can point us out of here! Aang, you can bend a breeze so we can sail it. We're going to make it!”

-

The five teens had squeezed onto the glider, with Katara navigating and Aang driving it using his airbending.

“The needle on this compass doesn't seem to be pointing north according to my charts.” Katara had stated. Y/N was going to sit next to Katara to help her out, but decided not to. Sokka placed himself right next to Y/N, and grabbed her hand. 

“Take it easy little lady. I'm sure the sand folks who built this baby know how to get around here.” Y/N was obviously weirded out, but let Sokka do his thing. She didn’t want to make him angry, because in his current state, it would result in him doing something extremely annoying. 

Katara gasped. “That's what the compass is pointing to! That giant rock! It must be the magnetic center of the desert.” Y/N turned around to look at the rock that Katara was pointing to. 

Obviously ecstatic, Toph shouted, “ A rock‌?! Yes! Let's go!” Y/N just giggled.

“Maybe we can find some water there!” Katara exclaimed with a hopeful tone in her voice.

“Maybe we can find some sandbenders.” Aang snapped. He guided the glider towards the rock. 

-

“Ahhh ... Finally! Solid ground!” Toph cheered as she laid on the rock, creating a rock angel with her bending. When she was finished creating the angel, she stood up and joined the rest of the group, who were exploring a cave with a gooey substance. 

“I think my head is starting to clear out the cactus juice. And look!” Sokka shouted as he dipped his hand in the mysterious substance, earning a groan from Y/N. He licked the substance and offered some to Y/N, who kicked him in the leg in response. 

“You've been hallucinating on cactus juice all day and then you just lick something you find stuck to the wall of a cave‌?!” Y/N ranted. “Spirits, you really are dense.” Frowning, Sokka wiped the goo off his hands and placed a hand on Y/N’s shoulder. He whispered, “Sorry.” Y/N just nodded in response.

“I don't think this is a normal cave.” Toph stated. “This was carved by something.” 

“Yeah,” Aang agreed. “Look at the shape.”

“There's something buzzing in here. Something that's coming for us!” Toph shouted. The group ran out of the cave. Toph, Aang, and Y/N screamed as a buzzard wasp emerged from the darkness of the cave. Y/N pulled down Aang and Toph as it flew over their heads. 

Another buzzard flew between Toph and Sokka. Toph used her earth bending to launch a rock in the direction of the buzzard, and the rock nearly crushed Sokka.

“What are you doing? That rock almost crushed me!” Sokka shouted. 

“Sorry! I can’t tell where they are in the air!” Toph replied. Another wasp flew in between Sokka and Y/N. Y/N was going to hit it with one of her many throwing knives but Sokka lightly shoved her out of the way. 

“I got this one!” Sokka told her. Y/N was annoyed, but realized that there wasn’t a wasp and Sokka was still hallucinating. Figuring that it would be funny to watch him smack his machete at nothing, she moved out of the way. Sokka then swung his machete at nothing, and Y/N giggled. 

“Sokka, there’s nothing there!” Katara shouted, obviously fed up with him.

“I guess my head’s not as clear as I thought.” Sokka muttered. Y/N grabbed his arm and dragged him down to her level. 

“We have to get out of here!” Katara shouted. “I’m completely out of water to bend!” Y/N nodded, about to move with Sokka trailing behind her, when a buzzard grabbed Momo.

“Momo! I’m not losing anyone else out here!” Aang shrieked. Full of anger, he took off on his glider in hot pursuit of Momo and the wasp.

“Come on, we’re going down.” Katara told the others. Katara held Toph by the hand as they made their way down a narrow ledge. Y/N was about to make her way to the others by herself when Sokka grabbed her hand.

“Hey! You- you shouldn’t go down alone!” Sokka exclaimed. Annoyed, Y/N traversed the wall and landed on the ground with a backflip, while smiling up at Sokka. 

-

“What are you doing in our land with a sandbender sailer? ‌ From the looks of it, you stole it from the Hami tribe.” A sandbender named Sha-Mo asked Katara.

“We found the glider abandoned in the desert. We're traveling with the Avatar. Our bison was stolen and we have to get to Ba Sing Se.” Katara stated. The man’s eyes widened when he learned that Aang was the Avatar. 

“You dare accuse our people of theft while you ride in on a stolen sand sailer‌?!” Another man stated. Toph’s eyes narrowed when she heard the man speak, and Y/N frowned. 

“Quiet, Ghashiun. No one accused our people of anything. If what they say is true, we must give them hospitality.” Sha-Mo stated. 

“Sorry, father.” Ghashiun replied.

“I recognize the son's voice. He's the one that stole Appa.” Toph cautioned. Y/N’s eyes widened, and she looked at Sokka, who looked equally as confused and surprised. 

“Are you sure?” Katara asked. 

“I never forget a voice.” Toph answered. 

Aang charged forwards toward Ghashiun. “You stole Appa! Where is he? ‌What did you do to him?”

“They're lying! They're the thieves!” Ghashiun defended himself. Aang, obviously agitated, he smacked his staff on the ground, and one of the gliders flew off due to his airbending. “Where. Is. My. Bison! You tell me where he is now!”

“What did you do?” Sha-Mo asked Ghashiun.

“I-it wasn’t me!” Ghashiun tried to defend himself.

“You said to put a muzzle on him!” Toph shouted! 

“You muzzled Appa‌?” At this point, Aang was enraged. Sokka, Katara, and Y/N all looked to each other, with fear evident on their faces. Aang’s tattoos then started glowing as he entered the Avatar state. 

“I'm sorry! I didn't know that it belonged to the Avatar!” Ghashiun shouted.

“Tell me where Appa is!” Aang shouted, with the voices of all the Avatars. 

“I traded him! To some merchants! He's probably in Ba Sing Se by now! They were going to sell him there! Please! We'll escort you out of the desert! We'll help however we can!” Wind started swirling around Aang as he started floating in the air. Sokka pulled Y/N as he booked his way out of Aang’s vicinity. They finally found a spot that would keep them safe from Aang’s sandstorm and Sokka wrapped Y/N in a hug to protect her.

“Just get out of here! Run!” Y/N shouted towards the other sandbenders. Aang dropped his staff and the wind formed a sphere around him. As everyone ran away, Katara stayed put near Aang. The sandstorm engulfed the two, and they braced themselves as the whirlwind swooped over them. Katara managed to embrace Aang in a hug, causing him to calm down. Sokka lifted his arms which were wrapped safely around Y/N’s head and body. 

taglist: @emberislandplayers​ @eridanuswave​ @fandomobsessedlife​ @hopefuloperaangelnerd​ @multi-fandomstan​ @minifruity​ @marylisss​ @iflostreturntoflynnrider​

[partywithponies]

Rating BBC Father Brown episodes that are adaptations of specific book stories in terms of how good they are as adaptations:

1x01: The Hammer of God:

This one’s actually really close to the book plot! But it adds character depth and motivation that isn’t in the book! A great adaptation, and a great start to the show! 10/10!

1x02: The Flying Stars:

As an adaption, this episode makes me Very Cross. In the books, this episode is one of the most important points in Flambeau’s character arc, and more of a Flambeau story than a Father Brown story. So naturally they decided to stick it really early in the show and erase Flambeau from it completely, thanks lads. They included the socialist guy from the books though, we stan that. 2/10.

1x03: The Wrong Shape:

Am I a joke to you? Flambeau has been erased from this one too. THAT SAID, lack of my perfect boy aside, I actually like this one better than the book version. They removed the racism, which is always good, and added a fun twist so that the title means something different to what it’s referring to in the books. And Flambeau may be gone but Leonard Quinton is still here, and rest assured: one look at him and I know in my heart he definitely still fucked Flambeau in Paris. 9/10.

1x05: The Eye of Apollo:

Once again, Flambeau has been erased from a very Flambeau-heavy story in the books. I feel personally victimised. The Stacey sisters are gone too, which is the real tragedy here: Flambeau is in many stories, Pauline Stacey is only in one, and now she’s in none. I love Pauline Stacey. She’s like Toph from Avatar if Toph grew up to be a Karen. And she managed to hide the fact she was blind from literally everyone apart from her sister and her boyfriend, your fave could never. HOWEVER! This is still a very solid episode, it’s lovely to have a Susie episode, and I actually prefer the show version of Kalon to the book version. The show version has more depth and feels more believable and isn’t just motivated by money. 8/10.

1x10: The Blue Cross:

Banger of an episode. I’ve watched it too many times to count now. Captures the vibes and the atmosphere of the book story even when it doesn’t follow what literally happens. Flambeau is there. Literally flawless. 1000/10. (I miss the soup though.)

2x07: The Three Tools of Death:

This follows the book pretty closely, and I like the extra depth it gives the daughter. However, it makes one major change that I think actually does the reveal a disservice. In the book, the father who dies was an entertainer, a public speaker, and a beloved celebrity, known for always appearing happy and joyful and promoting laughter and optimism, and the fact he was secretly depressed for years without anyone knowing and ended up killing himself was actually a poignant and relevant twist, by actually giving him a recently dead wife and a “reason” to be depressed, it kind of loses a bit of its impact. 7/10.

3x03: The Invisible Man:

I am very conflicted on this one. Laura and her boyfriend and Welkin and Smythe all look at sound just like I imagine them when I read the book! However. HOWEVER. While you all know I love a good circus episode of a murder show. Did this really have to be one? Why removing the way in which Welkin is an “invisible man”, you remove one of the best moments of social commentary in the books, and one that could have worked SO WELL with this show and its characters! So well! We were so robbed! Father Brown’s whole speech about how people don’t notice people who “don’t count” in their eyes? When he says that if you ask a noble Lady who lives with her, she’ll say “no-one”, even if her butler and her maid are right there in the room, because servants don’t really count in the eyes of the nobility they work for, they’re mentally invisible, seen as more furniture than people? That could’ve led to some brilliant Lady Felicia character depth, a real juicy look at her character flaws! And they REMOVED IT! We lost that in favour of circus antics and Sullivan being a bit gay! And do you know an even more heinous crime? Not only was Flambeau once again erased from this story, they erased FLAMBEAU’S PERSIAN CAT! How COULD you!!! Give me the social commentary and the cat or give me death! 4/10.

3x04: The Sign of the Broken Sword:

I’m about to pee my entire pants where the fuck is Flambeau. Are you taking the ultimate piss. Pretty decent episode though, 7/10.

3x13: The Paradise of Thieves:

Okay you didn’t even try. This has literally nothing in common with the book story of the same name other than the fact it shares a title and Father Brown is in it. What was even the point. That’s bullshit, this whole thing is bullshit, that’s a scam, fuck the church, here’s 95 reasons why. 0/10.

And that’s the last one, after that they just decided to make up their own original stories. (Thank GOD, imagine if they did Sins of Prince Saradine but erased Flambeau. I would yeet myself off the nearest cliff. Also series 4 onwards slapped majorly, their own original stories are great.)

[raylessneedssleep]

Are you still doing asks on anything? Can u do something with Sukka? Or maybe something that has a Sokka/toph sibling relationship/ friendship? Please?

Of course! I will try to incorporate both Sukka and a Sokka and Toph friend/sibling relationship. This will be set during a traveling mission with Team Avatar (Zuko and Suki included).

———

“Are we there yet?” Sokka said in a childish tone. His aching feet were screaming for a much needed break after hiking up the mountain side. It was almost sundown and they were approaching a small village settled on one of the mountain slopes. 

Katara rolled her eyes and shot a glare back at her brother who was trudging behind the rest of the group. “Quit complaining and just continue walking,” she snapped, her fists balled at her sides. Sokka had been complaining ever since they had slid off of Appa and began their hike.

“It’s okay, Sokka! We are almost there anyway.” Aang slowed to allow Sokka to catch up with him, resting a reassuring hand on the elder boy’s shoulder with a bright smile. Sokka resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Aang’s chipper attitude. The boy never seemed to get tired and Sokka blamed it on being the avatar. 

Toph huffed, stomping her foot forward before rising back up into a straighter stance. “I believe it is just up ahead,” Toph said as she pointed to the direction in front of her. 

Letting out a dramatic sigh of relief, Sokka sprinted off ahead of the others with an inhuman speed. Zuko opened his mouth to shout for him to slow down, but the soft gab to his side along with the shake of Katara’s head stopped him. He looked between the two Southern Water Tribe siblings and sighed softly to himself.

Behind them, Suki couldn’t help but watch Sokka’s retreating figure with a soft smile. Toph didn’t fail to notice her heartbeat changing ever so slightly.

After Team Avatar finally caught up to Sokka, he had already entered an Inn placed at the edge of the village. A short, thin woman with braided hair welcomed them with a small smile. Zuko reached into his bag, pulling out a small pouch of money to pay for their rooms. 

The rooms were divided into boys and girls, much to Sokka’s displeasure, and were situated across from one another. Each room had two beds side-by-side, two dressers, a closet across from the beds, a small table settled under a shoji window, and a plush rug. The bathrooms were public baths that were connected to the Inn by a small pathway and a large outhouse. 

Bathing in a public bath was a new experience for Suki, but she didn’t hate it entirely. It was nice having her hair washed by Katara while washing Toph’s hair which was surprisingly long and soft. She learned that Toph had a small scar on her hip from being pushed into a rose bush by kids who lived around her. Toph explained that it was one of the reasons her parents refused to let her leave the house; they feared she was too fragile and something worse could happen to her besides getting hurt by a rose bush.

Suki had been shocked to learn what Toph’s family was like, but it only made them closer. It made Suki feel like they were finally trusting each other by exchanging childhood memories with one another. Even Katara shared her own stories—many involved Sokka making a complete fool of himself—and stories of her adventures with Aang before the others had joined the group.

Their fun soon came to an end when they exited the bathhouse to find Zuko scowling at Aang airbending Sokka’s hair to dry it. Dark strands stood up in different directions and a lazy grin covered Sokka’s face. He seemed to be enjoying himself too much.

“Suki, look!” Sokka shouted, pointing to his disheveled hair. Though Suki didn’t understand the amusement in his messy hair, she still giggled at his behavior. He may have been one of the older ones in the group, but that didn’t mean he was the most mature. Joking around was something he did quite often, leaving the maturity to Zuko and Katara who were the parents of Team Avatar.

“I don’t get it,” Toph grumbled as she crossed her arms across her chest.

“Of course you don’t ‘cause you’re blind,” Sokka rolled his eyes before smoothing out his hair with his hands until it framed his face. Toph scoffed, stomping the ground until a large rock lifted from the earth and flew into Sokka. It smacked the back of his head which sent him flying forward into the small pond next to the walkway.

Laughter erupted from the group—Zuko even let out a small chuckle—as Sokka struggled to free himself from the slippery stones surrounding the pond. Turtle ducks pecked at his behind making him wince and reach his hand out for help. Zuko pitied the poor boy and reached down to grab the collar of his robe, pulling him up from the pond.

Suki, smiling at Sokka, turned around and slowly began heading towards the small sitting area on the other side of the walkway. It had a large tree—it stood taller than the Inn which was three levels—in the middle with benches on either side of it.

“Suki,” Katara called out to gain the other girl’s attention, “where are you going?”

“Oh! Just going over to sit down. I’m not ready to go to bed yet, but I wish to rest my feet a little.”

Katara gave her a questioning look after something flashed behind Suki’s eyes, her smile wavering ever so slightly, but she decided to drop it and let Suki do as she pleased.

Making her way over to one of the benches, Suki smoothed out the light green robe she had been wearing before she sat down. Her eyes trained on the moon that hung high in the sky; the rays of light casted a glow over the world underneath it. A feeling of dread grew in her stomach the more she stared blankly at the large, gray orb.

Toph nudged Sokka—he had been telling her about the village as he thumbed through a small history book he had apparently brought outside with him—and called for his attention.

“Yeah?” Sokka questioned, his eyes never leaving the worn pages as he skimmed every line.

“I think something is wrong with Suki,” Toph said lowly to not draw attention to their conversation. Zuko and Katara had been paying attention to Aang as he rambled about the Air Nomads, but Toph wanted to be sure no one else heard her conversation with Sokka.

“What do you mean?” Sokka paused in his reading to look up at Toph, though she didn’t see it, and raised a brow at her statement.

“I don’t know...I just feel like something is wrong,” Toph could feel Sokka’s worried gaze trained on her face. Whenever she got a feeling about something, it was usually right.

Had there been something wrong with Suki? If there was, then why didn’t Sokka notice it?

Sokka looked over to where Suki was sitting, her head leaned back and a sad gaze resting on the sky above her. He followed her gaze to see she was looking at the moon.

He cursed under his breath before standing to full height. “Can we continue our talk later?” Sokka asked Toph to which she responded with a nod of her head, standing to go over to the rest of the group. Sokka made a mental note to make it up to Toph considering she had been very interested in the history of the village and he had promised he would tell her about it.

Suki was drawn from her thoughts when someone suddenly sat down beside her. Shocked to see Sokka, she fumbled over her own words as she tried to form a greeting.

“Suki, if this is about what I told you the other day, then I’m sorry.”

Her body froze instantly at his words; she could only stare at him as he looked up at the moon with a sad look and a tight lipped smile. She knew that look and it only made her heart hurt more knowing she was partly causing it.

It had been about what he told her the other day. As soon as he told her everything, her mind began to overflow with so many “what if” questions that her stomach began to twist into knots. She knew it was stupid to get so worked up over the past, but she couldn’t help it no matter how hard she tried to forget about it.

“When I told you about Yue, I wanted to be honest with you, not hurt you.” Sokka leaned forward while resting his elbows against his knees, his hands running through his parted hair.

Suki looked away, her folded hands falling into her lap and tightening against one another until her knuckles were paling; her heart beat wildly in her chest.

The other day, before they had left for their trip, Sokka had sat Suki down and told her everything about Princess Yue and their “relationship.” He left nothing out because he wanted her to know everything about him. Even his past. He told her how they met, what they talked about, how he felt when he had met her, what happened with the Fire Nation, what she had to do to save them, and how he felt when it happened.

“I shouldn’t be upset, I know, but I-“

“Suki, don’t ever assume that your feelings are invalid. You are allowed to feel however you want and you can feel upset about this.” Sokka was firm, but he was also gentle when he spoke to Suki. Looking into her watery eyes, he gave her a loving smile and leaned up to kiss her temple.

“Princess Yue is someone special to me and will always hold a special place in my heart, but she is in my past and will stay there. You are my present and my everything. Please, don’t ever doubt that.”

As they stared deeply into each other’s eyes, Suki felt a rush of relief blanket her body.

Why had she been so upset in the first place?

She had no reason to feel jealous over a girl that turned into the moon. Sokka loved Yue in the past, sure, but Sokka loved her in the present. He devoted his everything to her and she had absolutely no reason to doubt that. His past was his past, just as much as her past was her past.

“Sokka,” Suki brushed her nose against his; the action barely felt by either of them. It was rare for them to display this kind of affection for one another considering Suki enjoyed basking in each other’s presence in private, but she couldn’t help herself from showcasing her feelings.

“Yes?”

“I love you,” Suki said, pressing their foreheads together and reaching forward to take his hands into her own. She stared at their interlocked hands, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as a rush of pure love and comfort filled her. Sokka would always be there for her and she would do the same for him.

Giving her hands a squeeze, Sokka smiled and closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of her warm hands in his colder ones. He promised himself that, no matter what, he would never take her for granted and would always be someone she could count on and be proud of.

“I love you, Suki,”

———

I hope you enjoyed the short story and I’m sorry the ending was kind of bad, but I didn’t want to make it too long or too short so I tried to mix it up a bit. There wasn’t many Toph/Sokka moments, however, I tried to make their time together seem important. Toph really wanted to know about the village they were in, so Sokka did some research and brought along some history books to read to her and educate her. It is a sign that shows a more brotherly role he plays with Toph.

I also wanted to explain the story some more besides the Toph/Sokka scenes.

I wanted the story to be about Suki’s reaction to Yue, the girl Sokka used to like, and to show that she felt slightly jealous of Yue because it was his first love. It didn’t say this, but Suki was almost afraid that Sokka didn’t love her as much as he loved Yue and that he wasn’t over her.

Sokka explains that Yue is part of his past and will always be important to him, but he lives in the present with Suki who he loves now.

They cannot tell what the future holds for them, but they are willing to leave in the present with one another, showering each other with their love and affection.

Sorry if there are any typos! I wrote this when it was quite late. I hope you enjoyed it! :)

[aceavatar]

Come Back To Me (1) - sokka x oc )

Hi this is my first sokka post! I hope y’all enjoy it, I wrote it mid breakdown and I hope it makes sense!

Warning : intoxication? I’m not really sure

Genre : fluff/angst

“I’m sorry mom.” I said, shoving her out of my way. I ran out of the small gates of the village I grew up in.

I sigh, glancing back at the town that now hates me. Ever since the Avatar and his friends came through, my life turned upside down.

()()()

“Hey, you’re with that bald kid, right?” I asked the tan boy who’s looking quite sad. He nodded.

“What’s wrong?” I frown at him.

“My girlfriend turned into the moon.”

“Ouch.” I mumbled, sitting next to him.

“Yeah.”

It was quiet.

“Hey, I have something that might cheer you up.” I said, standing up. “You wait here.” I sprinted into my house, to my room, and grabbed the pouch that I hid under my bed. I then ran back out (quietly of course, don’t want to wake my parents) and to the boy.

“So, what’s your name, mysterious stranger?” He asked as i plopped myself next to him in the night.

“I’m Lila. Who are you?” I smiled at him.

“Sokka.”

“Sokka. I love it.” I mumbled, getting out the pouch.

“What’s that?” He asked curiously.

“My sandbender cousin gave it to me. It helps take the edge off. I think it’s from a cactus, i don’t know. I’ve only had a sip or two when i was feeling horrid.”

I handed him the pouch. He looked at it and thought about it, probably weighing the pros and cons.

“Cool.” He said, taking a big swig, making me laugh.

He wiped his mouth, handed it to me, and I followed his lead.

We giggled through the night and decided to go on a walk through the woods right outside the gates.

Nobody in the teeny village i lived in was up at this ungodly hour, so it was no trouble getting out.

Twenty minutes later, we were sitting on a tree branch together, talking.

“I’m arranged to marry a man fifteen years older than me.” I slurred, holding my ringed hand up.

“Gross!!!” Sokka grumbled, taking the ring off my finger. He then put it on his.

That made me laugh harder than I should have.

“Pass it here, water boy.” I said, using my grabby hands towards the pouch which was almost empty.

“Rock girl.” He said, chucking it at me.

I caught it and poured some into my mouth. We gave up on waterfalling a while ago.

I sighed and went to wipe my mouth when Sokka caught my arm. “Don’t let any go to waste!” He joked, pulling my head closer to his.

He then kissed the corner of my mouth, then straight on my lips.

He pulled away. “You taste like cactus juice.”

“So do you.” I smirked.

“I’m sorry if I-“

“Shhhh. Don’t be sorry.” I slurred, pulling him closer to me.

And that’s all that I remember.

The next morning, I woke up in my back yard hammock.

He woke up on Appa, hundreds of feet in the sky.

()()()

“Sokka! You’re awake!” Katara shouted, pulling her brother in for a hug. “We were worried about you, you seemed really sick.”

“What?” He asked, rubbing his eye.

“Yeah, we found you passed out by the front gates. We left as soon as we found you to find medicine.” Aang said from the front of Appa.

“You WHAT!” Sokka shouted, sitting up, making his head pound. He frowned as he looked down at his hands in his lap.

That’s when he saw it.

On his pinky finger, there was a delicate ring with diamonds surrounding it.

He took it off and examined it.

My love Lila was engraved on the inside.

Sokka slid the ring back on and promised himself he’d find her again.

()()()

Saro was furious.

Mother was furious.

Father was furious.

The whole village was furious.

They hate me.

Those five lines repeat themselves in my head, taunting me about my royal screw up.

Here I am, wandering the world, looking for a boy who has long forgotten about me.

I walked more than a girl like me should have, but i did. I finally had to take a break.

“Man, I hurt.” I mumble to myself as I walk along a random crews.

“Are you okay, miss? You seem troubled.” A voice calls.

I look across the stream and see an older man. He looks kind.

“I could use a rest.” I admit.

“Come, have tea with me.” He invites.

I nod and smile.

He set up his teapot and firebended the water warm. I lay out my blanket for us to sit on, despite the soft grass.

“So, what brings you out here in the middle of nowhere?” He asks, pouring us both a cup.

“I could ask you the same thing.” I joke.

���Got me there.” He laughs, handing me the cup which i gratefully take. “I’m keeping an eye on my nephew.”

He explains his situation, and I nod along. “He’s lucky to have someone who loves him.”

He smiles. “Thank you for saying that, kind stranger. What is your name? And if i may ask, what is your story?”

“My name’s Lila.”

“Beautiful name. Earth kingdom?”

I nod. “Named after my grandmother.

He smiles.

“I met this boy a while back. We drank some cactus juice that we shouldn’t have and I don’t really remember the night. He has my ring. I’m trying to find him.”

“That’s his baby, I assume?” The man nods at me.

I bite my lip. “Yeah.”

“Congratulations, dear Lila.”

“Thank you...?”

“Iroh.”

“Thank you, Iroh.” I sigh.

“What is the matter?”

“Well, I was in a forced engagement. And I’m carrying the child of a random guy that showed up. Admittedly I really liked him, but still. I didn’t know him. Now my town banished me out of shame.”

Iroh frowned. “Bringing another life into this world is not anything to be ashamed of.”

His words made me tear up. “Thank you Iroh. That made me feel much better.”

He smiled.

“Say, was the boy you were with traveling with a small blind earthbending girl?”

“Not when I saw him. They were looking for an earthbending teacher though.” I bite my lip in thought.

“Run, catch up with her.” Iroh encouraged, helping me stand up.

I nod and gather my things.

“Thank you again.” I say thankfully.

——————

I ended up getting lost. But i found myself walking down a cavern when I heard voices.

“Someone’s coming!” A female voice shouted.

I heard scurrying and when i turned the corner, a weight was lifted off my chest.

“Hey, I know you!” A cheerful voice said. “You’re from that village!”

I laugh and smile, nodding. “And you’re the avatar.”

“That I am!” He runs up to me and takes my arm. “How’d you find us?”

“Trust me, i have no idea. I just wandered, then got a tip to follow a blind earth bender,”

“I’M a blind earth bender!” A voice shouts.

“And i got lost along the way.”

“Hi! I remember you.” The girl says. “Katara.”

“Lila.”

“Aang.”

“Toph.”

“Hi everyone. Can I ask, where’s Sokka?”

“Hmm, he went off somewhere quieter to sleep. I’m teaching twinkle toes here how to earthend, and it can get noisy.” Toph says, her voice in an almost teasing tone.

“I need to look for him.”

“NO. WAY.” A familiar voice comes from behind me. “LILA!”

“Sokka!” I shout.

He sprints up to me and hugs me. “I missed you so much!”

“I missed you too! I think you have something of mine. I joke, holding out my hand.

“I do in fact have it.” He says, handing me my ring. “Is that all you came here for?”

“No.” I laugh. “I actually came here to ask for help.”

“Is something wrong?” Aang asks.

“Yeah, kind of.”

“Here, let’s sit down and have an early dinner. We have plenty, Lila.” Katara says, linking my arm with hers and leading me to their little campsite.

We all sit around a fire, and i listen to their chatter.

“So the end goal is, defeat the fire lord.” Aang summarizes, bringing me up to speed.

“Wow. That’s amazing.” I smile at him.

“So, what were you going to ask us for?” Aang asks, slurping some soup.

“I, um, got banished. My city is small, and I’ve lived there my whole life, and the only people I know who aren’t there is you guys, and I don’t know where else to turn.”

“You’ve turned to the right place, we’d love to have you join us.” Katara says sweetly.

“I’d love to join and fight, but I can’t.”

“What? Why not?” Sokka frowns.

“I just can’t, okay?!” I snap it him.

I didn’t mean to really, I just can’t put this baby in danger.

Sokka looks hurt. Katara and Toph are confused, and Aang looks understanding.

“I can’t fight.”

“We can teach you.” Sokka offers.

“I’d love to but I just can’t. I need a place to stay, to live. Safely.” I hang my head down. I just know they’re seeing me as a pansy. As a girl who’s too scared to fight for what’s right.

“You have a sand bending cousin right?” Sokka asks.

I nod. “I said safe, but ok.” I joke.

“Maybe he could take you to Ba Seng Se?” Aang offers.

I nod.

“We’ll take you there.”

——————

We land in the big city to take refuge.

“Here we are!” Aang says.

“Thanks, Aang. Everyone.” I smile at them. “Sokka, could you help me down? I also wanna talk to you.”

“Sure.” He says, slight nerves in his voice.

He helps me slide down Appa’s tail.

“What’s up?” He asks.

I glance to the side to see the three plus Momo trying to look like they weren’t listening.

“Please come back for me. I don’t want you out of my life, water boy.”

“Why won’t you come with us, Lila?” He blurts.

“I can’t, Sokka.”

“You said that, but why. I want to know.”

“Don’t press, please.”

“Lila. Please. You can talk to me. I really hope you don’t hate me. I didn’t mean to leave that night, I woke up on Appa midair.”

“I don’t hate you, Sokka. Do you remember?”

“No, I don’t. Do you?”

“No, I woke up in my backyard.” I laugh.

He smiles at me.

“You have to go now.” I say. “I wish you could stay for so many reasons.”

“Yeah, me too.”

I take his hand and put my ring back on. “Go save the world, water boy, then come back to me.”